The Silver-Scaled Mark
by JayhawkWrites
Summary: Blaine is a half-elf living in a town of full-blooded elves. He doesn't fit in and is bullied almost daily for his heritage. One day Blaine finds solace in the library and later finds a book that talks about the magic in his world. Once he graduated as a wizard, he finds that he and several companions are part of a prophecy that will help unite the races in his world.
1. Introduction

**Author's Note:** I have been playing the same Dungeons and Dragons campaign for just over 4 years, and when the Blaine Big Bang challenge came across my Tumblr feed, I was instantly struck with the idea to merge these two worlds that I love. You do not have to understand D&D to read this story…I promise. I will say that if you do understand the game, I rolled stats for each of the main characters, and all battles were completed with dice rolls as well. I wanted to be as true to the game as I could be, and still have it translate well into writing. (I have modified one spell that is used in the game to fit the needs of my story. The [Dancing Lights] cantrip will last for an hour as opposed to 1 minute in this story.)

_The Silver-Scaled Mark_ is set in in the fantasy world a very good friend of mine imagined, with many changes and modifications, as I didn't just want to copy his whole story. This story will loosely follow the campaign I play. (This story takes us through about 10 sessions of my campaign and we are currently on session 90 as I am beginning to post this.)

To my real-life Dungeon Master, **THANK YOU** so much for putting in the time and effort you have into creating this amazing journey for all of us. Also, for answering all of the questions I have had when I couldn't remember what happened all that time ago. This 'game' has been one of the best experiences of my life thus far, and I'm so very excited to see how many more years we can go with this campaign...which means you can't kill us all off!

***Neither Glee or its characters are mine.

A **HUGE **thank you to teddyshoney (at this name on Tumblr) for being my **AMAZING **beta. I seriously could not have completed this process without you to cheer me on. Also thank you to michaelscribbles (also at this name on Tumblr) for the beautiful and thoughtful artwork. I will also be adding some of the photos I used for references of people and places on my Tumblr account, which is jayhawk-writes.

To help with any confusion, below is a list of the races used in the story. Please reference it at any time if you get lost, and feel free to message me on Tumblr anytime. Also, I will include a world map that I generated, separate from what my artist is providing.

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**Races (Description and pictures taken directly from the Wizards of the Coast 5e Player's Handbook)**

Dragonborn: "Dragonborn look very much like dragons standing erect in humanoid form, though they lack wings or a tail. The first dragonborn had scales of vibrant hues matching the colors of their dragon kin, but generations of interbreeding have created a more uniform appearance. Their small, fine scales are usually brass or bronze in color, sometimes ranging to scarlet, rust, gold, or copper-green. They are tall and strongly built, often standing close to 6½ feet tall and weighing 300 pounds or more. Their hands and feet are strong, talonlike claws with three fingers and a thumb on each hand.

The blood of a particular type of dragon runs very strong through some dragonborn clans. These dragonborn often boast scales that more closely match those of their dragon ancestor—bright red, green, blue, or white, lustrous black, or gleaming metallic gold, silver, brass, copper, or bronze."

Dwarf: "Bold and hardy, dwarves are known as skilled warriors, miners, and workers of stone and metal. Though they stand well under 5 feet tall, dwarves are so broad and compact that they can weigh as much as a human standing nearly two feet taller. Their courage and endurance are also easily a match for any of the larger folk.

Dwarven skin ranges from deep brown to a paler hue tinged with red, but the most common shades are light brown or deep tan, like certain tones of earth. Their hair, worn long but in simple styles, is usually black, gray, or brown, though paler dwarves often have red hair. Male dwarves value their beards highly and groom them carefully."

Elves: "With their unearthly grace and fine features, elves appear hauntingly beautiful to humans and members of many other races. They are slightly shorter than humans on average, ranging from well under 5 feet tall to just over 6 feet. They are more slender than humans, weighing only 100 to 145 pounds. Males and females are about the same height, and males are only marginally heavier than females.

Elves' coloration encompasses the normal human range and also includes skin in shades of copper, bronze, and almost bluish-white, hair of green or blue, and eyes like pools of liquid gold or silver. Elves have no facial and little body hair. They favor elegant clothing in bright colors, and they enjoy simple yet lovely jewelry.

Ancient divides among the elven people resulted in three main subraces: high elves, wood elves, and dark elves, who are commonly called drow."

Half-Elves: "To humans, half-elves look like elves, and to elves, they look human. In height, they're on par with both parents, though they're neither as slender as elves nor as broad as humans. They range from under 5 feet to about 6 feet tall, and from 100 to 180 pounds, with men only slightly taller and heavier than women. Half-elf men do have facial hair, and sometimes grow beards to mask their elven ancestry. Half-elven coloration and features lie somewhere between their human and elf parents, and thus show a variety even more pronounced than that found among either race. They tend to have the eyes of their elven parents."

Humans: "With their penchant for migration and conquest, humans are more physically diverse than other common races. There is no typical human. An individual can stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weigh from 125 to 250 pounds. Human skin shades range from nearly black to very pale, and hair colors from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight); males might sport facial hair that is sparse or thick. A lot of humans have a dash of nonhuman blood, revealing hints of elf, orc, or other lineages. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century."

Half-Orc: "Half-orcs' grayish pigmentation, sloping foreheads, jutting jaws, prominent teeth, and towering builds make their orcish heritage plain for all to see. Half-orcs stand between 5 and 7 feet tall and usually weigh between 180 and 250 pounds.

Orcs regard battle scars as tokens of pride and ornamental scars as things of beauty. Other scars, though, mark an orc or half-orc as a former slave or a disgraced exile. Any half-orc who has lived among or near orcs has scars, whether they are marks of humiliation or of pride, recounting their past exploits and injuries. Such a half-orc living among humans might display these scars proudly or hide them in shame."

Gnome: "A gnome's energy and enthusiasm for living shines through every inch of his or her tiny body. Gnomes average slightly over 3 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their tan or brown faces are usually adorned with broad smiles (beneath their prodigious noses), and their bright eyes shine with excitement. Their fair hair has a tendency to stick out in every direction, as if expressing the gnome's insatiable interest in everything around.

A gnome's personality is writ large in his or her appearance. A male gnome's beard, in contrast to his wild hair, is kept carefully trimmed but often styled into curious forks or neat points. A gnome's clothing, though usually made in modest earth tones, is elaborately decorated with embroidery, embossing, or gleaming jewels."

Halfling: "The diminutive halflings survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding notice or, barring that, avoiding offense. Standing about 3 feet tall, they appear relatively harmless and so have managed to survive for centuries in the shadow of empires and on the edges of wars and political strife. They are inclined to be stout, weighing between 40 and 45 pounds.

Halflings' skin ranges from tan to pale with a ruddy cast, and their hair is usually brown or sandy brown and wavy. They have brown or hazel eyes. Halfling men often sport long sideburns, but beards are rare among them and mustaches even more so. They like to wear simple, comfortable, and practical clothes, favoring bright colors.

Halfling practicality extends beyond their clothing. They're concerned with basic needs and simple pleasures and have little use for ostentation. Even the wealthiest of halflings keep their treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have a knack for finding the most straightforward solution to a problem, and have little patience for dithering."

Tiefling: "Tieflings are derived from human bloodlines, and in the broadest possible sense, they still look human. However, their infernal heritage has left a clear imprint on their appearance. Tieflings have large horns that take any of a variety of shapes: some have curling horns like a ram, others have straight and tall horns like a gazelle's, and some spiral upward like an antelopes' horns. They have thick tails, four to five feet long, which lash or coil around their legs when they get upset or nervous. Their canine teeth are sharply pointed, and their eyes are solid colors—black, red, white, silver, or gold—with no visible sclera or pupil. Their skin tones cover the full range of human coloration, but also include various shades of red. Their hair, cascading down from behind their horns, is usually dark, from black or brown to dark red, blue, or purple."


	2. Blaine of Wellume

Tags: au-fantasy; magic; bullying

* * *

Blaine was proud of the city he grew up in. He liked to sit by the fountain while reading and take in the beauty that was Wellume. It really was an idyllic place to live and grow up. Set at the base of a waterfall, the town of Wellume was home to wood elves and high elves led by Lord Kindroth. With its elmwood rooftops, intricate vine-inspired walkways and bridges, blackwood walls, and flowing waterfall, Wellume had a glamorous atmosphere. The fountain at the center of the city was Blaine's favorite place to escape to and relax.

Blaine was the only child of Saria, and she loved him with all of her heart. Saria doted on Blaine and gave him everything she could. She often felt as if she had to make up for his biological father's absence, as he had gotten her pregnant and then never wanted anything to do with either of them. Roglen Fenfir, the King of the land of Cretopia, was Blaine's deadbeat father.

Saria thought back to the day she found out she was pregnant. She had reached out to Roglen, informing him of the pregnancy. When he had received the note from Saria explaining to him that she was with child, he had weighed his options. He did not want a bastard child and did not want to marry the elf woman, so he did not respond and burned the letter. After several weeks with no word from Roglen, Saria had realized that she would get no help from the human king. She told her father what had transpired and was surprised by his gentle and caring reaction to the news.

King Roglen Fenfir had been invited to attend a gathering of dignitaries in Wellume the summer that Saria had turned 17. At the opening ceremony, they had first caught a glimpse of each other. Saria was the only daughter of Kindroth, the head of the Council of Elves of the village, so naturally, she was included in all of the banquets and balls that were held to entertain the traveling guests. The gathering had lasted a couple of weeks, and in that time, Roglen and Saria had spent many hours together, both in public and in private. As the assembly came to a close, Roglen had assured Saria that he would send for her to visit his kingdom…he never did, though. She soon found out, by way of overhearing other elven ladies in the town gossip, that he wasn't the type of man to be faithful to just one person. Disappointed and heartbroken, she vowed to forget Roglen. Two months later, however, she discovered that she was with child.

Not too long after Saria had Blaine, she met Elwin. Elwin was an elf from another village that was wandering from place to place, looking for something different in his life. He was not scared to take on the responsibility of raising someone else's child, especially after hearing how Blaine, the now almost one-year-old, came to be in the world. He never let Blaine feel that he was not his child, and the boy never knew any differently. Saria and Elwin married a few months after Blaine turned one. It was a simple ceremony that their closest friends and family attended. The love exuded from the two that day was palpable to everyone around them, and all that attended could see how much Elwin loved Blaine.

Elwin spent time with Blaine each day, teaching him all of the things that his own father had taught him. Soon enough, Blaine could use a crossbow and bolt arrows to hunt for his own food, build a fire, pitch a tent, and look for shelter from the elements if he needed. Elwin was proud of his son and knew that he was teaching Blaine skills that everyone should know.

Because of Roglen's human blood running through his veins, Blaine looked a little different than the other kids in his village. He was shorter, and his ears were less pointy than his full-blooded elven kin. He was a little less lithe and thin. That did not mean that he was large by any means; he was just a bit broader than the other kids his age. The other children frequently left him out of social gatherings and mocked his ears, his height, his uniquely shaped eyebrows, and his curly, sometimes out-of-control hair. As a small child, he never knew why he was being made fun of, and would often keep it to himself since they also ridiculed other kids for various things. When he was around 10 years old, Blaine asked his parents about why the other kids were making fun of him. He did not understand how he was any different than them. Saria and Elwin told him about his true lineage. Blaine was confused and hurt, mainly because he couldn't think of anyone besides his dad _as_ his dad, and he was thankful that they both loved him as much as they did. At least now he knew why he was being targeted.

After one particularly rough day at school, Blaine found sanctuary in a place it did not seem like other kids his age often went: the library. From that day forward, he went there as often as he could and read anything and everything he could get his hands on, soaking up the history of his village, learning about the creatures of the world, and even learning some other languages.

When he was 15 years old, he stumbled upon a book of magic that described its noble history. He was astonished by what magic could do and how helpful it could be. When he finished it, he found and read all of the other magic books the local library had. Consuming every bit of magical knowledge took him just under two years as the selection available to him was quite extensive. He learned about abjuration (spells of protection), necromancy (manipulating life and death energies), divination (revealing of information), conjuration (moving items/creatures from one place to another), transmutation (changing properties of an environment, creature, or object), illusion (deceiving the minds or senses of others), enchantment (affecting the minds of others), and evocation (manipulating the mind of others). Blaine saw merit in learning about each type of magic, though it was abjuration that seemed to fit his core beliefs the best. In the first history book he read, Blaine learned that "The School of Abjuration emphasizes magic that blocks, banishes, or protects. Detractors of this school say that its tradition is about denial, negation rather than positive assertion. You understand, however, that ending harmful effects, protecting the weak, and banishing evil influences is anything but a philosophical void. It is a proud and respected vocation."

_"That's what I want to do. That's how I will help people someday," _he thought after reading that passage.

He asked his parents their views on magic the day he finished the last book the library had available.

"Momma, Papa, what do you guys think of magic?" Blaine cautiously asked one night after supper.

"I've seen wonderful things done with magic as I've traveled the lands before settling down here with you both," Elwin explained. "I've also witnessed the darker side of it. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" Blaine hesitated, afraid of being rejected.

"Blaine," Saria asked gently. "You can tell us anything, you know."

Blaine took a deep breath and prepared himself to talk about what he had been through the past few years. "I didn't want to tell you guys because I wanted to be able to handle it myself. And I did to an extent. A few years ago, some of the kids at school were making fun of me pretty badly. They would call me names and trip me sometimes. Other times, they would just give me really hateful looks. So, one day, after things had gotten a little more heated than they previously had, I ended up in the library when they chased after me. I wasn't sure what they were going to do to me if they caught me, and I was scared."

His parents didn't once interrupt him while he was telling his story, and they sensed he wasn't done yet but needed a moment to calm himself so he could continue. "I think I was 10 then, so the librarian, who we should totally buy a gift for, pointed me in the direction of the kids' section," Blaine explained with a smile on his face, recalling the day his life had changed.

"I went there every day after that, even when I didn't need solace. I just found comfort in the books, especially when I felt like I had been transported to a far-off fairytale land. Anyway, when I had devoured every book in the kids' section, I moved on to the rest of the library, reading everything I could, no matter the subject." Blaine took another deep, grounding breath and peeked up at his parents to see how they were taking the news thus far, glad that they were actively listening to him and not shutting him out.

"A few years ago, I stumbled upon my first book about magic, and it felt like coming home. It gave me such a sense of peace and warmth to know that something like that was a possibility, and I was drawn to it. So, naturally, I read anything and everything I could until I had gone through all of the books. The librarian sent me to the university library after that, where, again, I read everything I could, especially in regards to magic," Blaine continued.

He took a fortifying breath and finally looked up to make eye contact with his parents. "I want to help people. And I want to do it with magic. I feel like this is what I was always meant to do what I was born to do. I want to protect people and give them a voice when they can't use their own. I want to make a difference in this world. I've never seen magic in our town, so, back to where my original question was leading: how would you both feel about me going away and studying magic?"

Saria and Elwin took a moment to absorb everything their son had just told them. They were aware that things were not always pleasant for him. He had never once complained, and they never saw any physical evidence of any harm being done. Saria didn't notice the tears running down her face until Blaine leaned forward and wiped them away.

"Don't cry, Momma," Blaine pleaded. "I'm ok. Really. I just feel like I need to do this."

Elwin and Saria made brief eye contact, both knowing that the other agreed; their little boy was getting ready to leave their home.

His parents told him to speak to Alok at the local university if he was serious about pursuing his magical journey. He did the very next day. Alok asked Blaine about himself, about why he felt magic was the right path for him. Even more specifically, he asked if there was a particular school that interested him more than others.

Blaine said he wanted to help people, especially those who got made fun of, picked on, and harmed simply because of who they were. A person can't help the way they are born, and Blaine wanted to be the one to encourage and assist them while educating those in power of the injustices that were happening around them.

Seeing the conviction in his eyes and the sincerity he was exuding, Alok recommended that Blaine go to the Deswore School of Magic and ask for Edryin who was an Abjuration master. Alok would send a letter to the school to let Edryin know to expect Blaine at the beginning of the next term, which started in three months.

"Can't you wait a few years to start school?" Saria asked, nowhere near ready to let her baby go.

"Momma, I need to do this and right now feels like the right time, not in a couple of years. There is nothing left for me here," Blaine stated that night while trying to convince his parents to let him go. At seeing his mother's brokenhearted demeanor, he quickly amended, "You know that you and Papa are the most important people in my life, and I love you both with all of my heart. I don't fit in here, though, and it hurts in the depths of my soul some of the things the others call me. Everything within me is telling me that now is the time for me to do this."

"Oh, my Blaine," his mother lamented. She looked at her husband, who gave an almost imperceptible nod, and then, she looked back to Blaine. "Please, please write to us often, and let us know how you are getting on. Who knows, there might even be a spell you can learn so we will not have to wait for a letter to be delivered."

They all laughed when Blaine said, "I read about this spell..."

Over the next couple of months, Blaine gathered up his belongings and put them into his newest accessory, the bag of holding that his grandfather had given him upon hearing what his plans were.

B~B~B~B~B

_"Blaine," Kindroth said to him the day after he had learned of the journey Blaine planned to embark on, "I want you to have this. It is called a bag of holding, and it can hold much more than it looks like it can. The man I purchased it from told me that it can hold up to 500 pounds inside of it, though the bag will never weigh more than 15 pounds. I thought it might be useful. I am assuming you are taking all of your journals with you?"_

_"Yes, Grandfather," Blaine said with a shy smile. "I was wondering how I would choose between them, and now I do not have to. Thank you so very much for this wonderful gift." _

_"I am so proud of everything you have accomplished and endured during your short time in this world, Blaine," Kindroth said with pride in his eyes and voice. "Your perseverance, strength, and compassion astounds me every day, and I pray to Ghyra that you find a place that is as wonderful and unique as you are. I am so sorry that that place is not here, and I hope to do a better job at changing that for future half-elves that might be born into our community." _

_"That really means a lot to me, Grandfather," Blaine said with tears in his eyes as he hugged Kindroth tightly. "Not everything was bad for me. Sure, some of the teachers at school would pass over me when I knew the answer to something the other kids did not, and of course, there were bullies both in and out of school. I always knew I was loved, though, and if anything had become too much and I was getting seriously hurt, I would have come to you, Momma, or Papa."_

_"I still don't like that you were subjected to the harassment, whether they hurt you physically or not, Blaine," his grandfather admonished. "Not all wounds can be seen."_

_"Honestly, I'm alright," Blaine replied. "I know why they said the things they did. The majority of elves see themselves as elite and above anybody else. It is the way it has been for thousands and thousands of years. I am not fully elf, so naturally, they are going to ostracize me. Part of why I want to study magic is to help others learn and accept that one race is not superior to others and that we are all beings of the land of Ichion."_

_"You are very ambitious, young one," Kindroth said with admiration in his eyes. "There is no doubt in my mind that if anyone can achieve this task, it is you." Little did Kindroth know at the time, but Blaine would do just this._

B~B~B~B~B

The journey to Deswore was somewhat anticlimactic. Blaine anticipated feeling differently, more grown-up perhaps, as he made his way, but nothing changed. Thanks to his dad, Blaine was confident in his ability to survive on his own. In the weeks leading up to his departure, he worked with his father on tuning up his survival skills. Blaine was now more sure of his ability to find his own food and prepare it in the wild, pitch a tent and make sure he was secure while he slept. He knew how to look for shelter when the elements became harsh. It took him about a week and a half to reach Deswore.

Upon arriving at the school, Blaine met immediately with Headmaster Edryin. He was somewhat surprised to see that she was a halfling, though if you asked him, he could not tell you what it was he was expecting. She was kind but firm when telling him about the rules and expectations he would be following while at the school. She also gave him a gift of his choosing.

"It is beneficial for all wizards to have an object to channel their magic out of," she told Blaine. "From what I understand, you are quite well versed on the history of magic and what goes into producing a spell. Surely you know what an arcane focus is?" At Blaine's nod, she continued. "Mine is this necklace I wear. Since I know that you had little to no exposure of magic in your hometown, allow me to demonstrate." Just then, a floating, ghostly hand [Mage Hand] appeared.

"That's amazing," Blaine replied in awe. He knew, of course, that there were different things that went into spell casting. Many spells had to have verbal, somatic, and material elements to make them work. The point of having an arcane focus was to essentially get rid of the materials component to make it easier to cast spells.

"Since you do not have one, you may choose from one of these as the school's gift to you," Headmaster Edryin stated and showed him the wands, scepters, necklaces, and rings.

Blaine was drawn to a silver ring with a spinel gem in the center of it and what looked like clouds around the gemstone.

"Excellent choice as this ring has magical properties as well," Edryin explained. "When you have this ring on, you will have resistance to any magical thunder damage that is cast upon you."

"Cool…" Blaine said quietly. He recalled reading about all of the different types of damage. Magic could cause multiple types of damage (cold, lightning, poison, thunder, acid, necrotic, psychic, radiant, force, and fire) whereas weapons dealt a different type of damage (slashing, bludgeoning, and piercing). Magical weapons, though, could deal both types of damage. Blaine did not own any magical weapons and was only equipped with a crossbow for hunting purposes, but he knew if he needed it, the weapon could harm another person.

For the next seven years, Blaine studied under Headmaster Edryin's watchful eye. She sensed something special about Blaine, though she could not quite pinpoint what it was. She was impressed with the knowledge he already had and the reasons why he wanted to study magic. Too many times, she had seen people come to the university seeking only power, their intentions less than pure. Blaine, however, really seemed to want to help people. Edryin also saw a darker side of him that she did not think Blaine even recognized. She saw that there might come a day that Blaine's pure desires would change, that he would see the world as it was now instead of how it could be. She did know, however, that Blaine would always protect those who could not defend themselves and would strive to leave this world in a better place than he found it.

Blaine took to abjuration spectacularly. He was a hard worker and wanted to soak up as much knowledge as he could. The masters that taught him were all amazed by his thirst to learn and would often stay after the class period to answer any questions he had. His peers looked up to him as well. Unlike many others their age, Blaine was not hotheaded and would listen to every side of a situation before he would weigh in on a possible solution. Since he practiced and honed this skill during his down time, when it was time for practical examinations, he was able to think quickly on his feet. For the first time in his life, _he_ was the popular one, and he loved the attention.

During Blaine's second year at the school, a new student entered mid-term named Sebastian. Sebastian was a human, cocky in his abilities, wanting to learn the most complex and damaging magic without putting forth the effort. Since he was not picking up the magic that he was being taught, he would lash out at the other students verbally and physically. Sebastian would pick on other students behind the teachers' backs and would somehow always get away with it. One day, Blaine was walking down the hall, and he heard Sebastian's distinct voice.

"Tell me what I want to know," Sebastian threatened a much older student.

"I can tell you. I can even show you, but you have to be able to master the simple spells before you can manage Finger of Death," Wesley, an air gensai, said.

"Listen here you little shit…" Sebastian started before Blaine intervened.

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?" Blaine asked in a calm tone, already having magically messaged [Message] the teacher he could make out at the far end of the hallway. [_Sebastian is in the alcove at the end of this hall threatening Wesley. I have stalled him but come quickly, please._]

"This is none of your concern, 'short-tips,'" Sebastian spat.

"You say that like it is a bad thing," Blaine chuckled, used to the name so many of the kids in his old village used to call him. "I am very proud of where I came from and am secure in who I am."

Sebastian turned from Wesley and started to walk toward Blaine, irritated that the shorter boy was standing up to him.

"First of all, I am way better than your half-breed ass," Sebastian began. "I have heard about you in my travels, how your daddy did not even want you after he used your whore of a mother for a good time during the dignitary meetings. My father was also there, and King Roglen boasted to him how easy your mother was to get into his bed. Both of my parents wanted me and made me into the elite human that I am. If you were not so gods damned pretty, I'd smash your face into the wall for being the tainted goody-two-shoes you are. Then again…"

Right then Master Sunydae walked into the alcove and put up an invisible circle of magical force [Wall of Force] around Sebastian which efficiently cut him off from both Blaine and Wesley. Sebastian walked into it and bounced backward, having not been able to see it. "I would advise you to stop speaking and follow me to Headmaster Edryin's office, Sebastian," Master Sunydae said with a firm voice.

Blaine had never been more thankful to see a teacher in all of his life. Sebastian bringing up his mother and hearing what his biological father had said surprised him; this was not something he had ever planned for so he had no idea how to respond.

Knowing he was going to get kicked out now as this was not his first time doing something like this at a school, Sebastian said, "How about no? This place sucks and cannot even teach the most basic of magic. I'm going to get my shit and then get out of here." He stalked off to his quarters to gather his belongings, Master Sunydae right behind him, ready to reconstitute the invisible wall again if need be.

"Are you alright, Wesley?" Blaine asked as he rushed over to his peer. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that this was not the last he would see or hear of Sebastian of Smythe.

"Yes, I am," Wesley answered. "Thank you so much for your help and for 'messaging' Master Sunydae. I really don't want to know what would have occurred if you had not happened upon us when you did."

"I'm sure you would have thought of something," Blaine said. "You are a very talented wizard, Wesley."

"But, I don't think as quickly as you do when trouble arises," Wesley said deprecatingly.

"If you would like, we could study together once a week and run scenarios together," Blaine offered. "Honestly, that's what I do in my free time. I think up situations and solutions, making sure I think of as many contingency plans as I can."

"That would be amazing, Blaine," Wesley said. "Thank you very much! Would Saturday work well for you?"

"Saturday works perfectly!" Blaine agreed. "We should meet in the library after lunch and go from there. That way, if we come across something we might not know how to handle, thousands of books are available for us to look through."

From then on out, Blaine and Wesley met every Saturday that they could. Blaine was happy to help his new friend and proud of him when he graduated in the top of his class, earning him a high honor in a court near his hometown.

During the last two years of his studies, Blaine continued to take in every bit of information he could. In his spare time, he read almost every book in the school's library. He was now well versed in a few more languages and had become proficient in recalling information he had read about the eight schools of magic practiced on Ichion. Blaine also learned spells from all of the other schools, though his primary focus would always be on those spells to protect himself and others.

Blaine was aware that he could not spend the rest of his days at the school; at some point, he would have to leave if he wanted to accomplish what he wanted with his life. Edryin sent Blaine to the Festival of Clane in the village of Devale the year he turned 25. It was speculated that the great Abjurer, Alin, was going to be there, and Edryin felt that it would be an excellent opportunity for Blaine to talk to and learn from him. So, his magical journey continued as he made his way toward Devale, officially a mid-level wizard. He knew that his skills and knowledge of magic would grow with time and practice, and he hoped that he could begin his new quest for knowledge with the great Alin as his teacher.

* * *

A/N: The quote that talks about The School of Abjuration is taken directly from the D&D Players Handbook by Wizards RPG Team.


	3. The Road to Devale

Tags: Orphan!Kurt

A/N: Age in Dungeons and Dragons varies between races. For example, a half-elf like Blaine matures around age 20 and often will often exceed 180 years of life. Whereas a full-blooded elf can live to be around 750, maturing around 20. Dwarves are considered young until they reach 50 and can live to be 350. Dragonborn's reach their maturity around 25 and live to be roughly 80. This story will **not **be tagged as an age difference fic due to the races maturing and living longer than each other.

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Blaine set out for the Festival of Clane early in the morning a month after he turned 25. His parents and grandfather had come to Deswore to celebrate with him and were very interested in learning about his studies and his plans moving forward. Saria, of course, wanted him to return home.

"Momma, I can't come home just yet," Blaine had explained gently to his mother. "There is still so much to learn, and I feel in my soul that the answers to what I have been looking for are going to come to fruition at the festival in Devale. It is hard to describe, but I feel like something is pulling me there."

"I understand, my son," Saria had replied with unshed tears in her eyes. She had missed her son so much over the past few years. He had come home for one month each year in the summertime and corresponded regularly both via mail and magic. It just had not been the same as having him there all of the time, though.

Blaine took all of his possessions with him when he left Deswore, most importantly the ring he had received from Edyrin as his arcane focus. His bag of holding carried all of his books and journals that he just could not bear to part with. Each morning, Blaine would prepare the spells he thought he might need that day. He knew that there was no way he would be able to recall all of them at a moment's notice, and there were some spells he didn't need to do this with.

Rituals, as they were called, came in very handy. They were not to be used in combat necessarily but were used to help him. For example, Blaine did not need to carry a tent on his travels anymore, because he could put up a magical hut [Leomund's Tiny Hut] to rest in each night. From the outside, the hut looked like an opaque dome. Blaine often chose to camouflage it by adding a color that matched the landscape. On the inside, the temperature was comfortable and dry, no matter what the weather outside. Blaine could see out of the hut without any difficulty as it was transparent to him, and he could hear what was happening outside, though nobody outside could hear in. One of the best features of the hut was that he could dictate who or what came in the hut. Each night when Blaine conjured it, he would make sure to specify that only he was allowed to enter it. He did not want any wild creatures or other people accidentally coming in when he was sleeping, and to add another layer of protection, he cast an alarm spell [Alarm] around the inside perimeter of the hut that would alert him mentally if anything crossed the boundary.

In his backpack, Blaine carried rations (just in case he couldn't find anything to hunt that day), a bedroll, an extra set of clothes (for special occasions), 50 feet of hempen rope, and a few bars of soap. A water skin hung off of his belt on one side, and his dagger was sheathed on the other. On his back, he also carried his light crossbow, quiver, and 20 bolts. He made sure that he had enough supplies to survive until reaching the festival, which would take about three weeks by foot.

After the first few days of travel, Blaine was eternally grateful that his father taught him how to hunt for his own meals, and was enjoying the solitude that this journey allowed. As he walked, he thought about a name for his crossbow that his father gave him when he was teaching him how to hunt. He came up with several, and the one that he felt fit the best was _Skyfire, Etcher of Lost Voices_. Blaine loved the name because he felt like there had been too many times over the past several years that he didn't have a voice, and he wanted to use the bow, if and when he had to, to help others find theirs, as well as maintaining his own.

Blaine was becoming more and more fond of his crossbow and was getting better at handling it. He was nowhere near proficient with the crossbow yet and still struggled at times, but he was most definitely getting better. Blaine would often admire it, and when he did, he remembered the wonderful times he had spent with his dad as he taught him how to use it.

The intricate, recurve crossbow had been flawlessly constructed of excellent firewood and its string was made from decent quality cotton. The limbs had been decorated with a seemingly glowing thread and ended in rounded curves ornamented with arrowheads. The stock was wrapped in rare leather and decorated with tribal paintings. The modest quiver was made from uniquely patterned leather and the outside of it had been decorated and etched in vines. In the hands of a novice archer, this bow was capable of firing arrows up to 300 feet while still retaining lethal power.

Every so often, he would pass various wanderers, others who were on their way to Deswore to study or to Devale to the festival. Either way, Blaine preferred to travel alone. That is, until the day he came across _HIM_.

About a week into his journey, Blaine was bathing in the river just as the sun rose above the horizon. He did not have to wash up every day due to a convenient little spell he had learned at school that could have him clean in a matter of seconds, but there was nothing like a refreshing dip in the water and the chance to really clean his clothes. He was enjoying the warm water when he felt a pair of eyes on him. He discreetly looked around and could not see anything, but he certainly felt like he was being watched, and he knew better than to ignore his instincts. Luckily, Blaine had prepared for a scenario similar to this one while studying with Wesley at school. He conjured an invisible servant [Unseen Servant] and commanded it to go to the shore, gather his clothes, and bring them to him in the water. After he had his clothes back on and felt much less vulnerable, Blaine dispelled the servant and went back to shore to dry himself with his magic [Prestidigitation]. He very cautiously picked up his backpack and continued to look around.

"I know you're there, and even though I can't see you, I feel you watching me," Blaine stated a little more confidently than he felt. "Please, come out so that the playing fields are even." One of the valuable lessons Blaine had learned growing up as a half-elf in a full-blooded elven village was how to be diplomatic in various situations.

As Blaine finished his sentence, the most beautiful being he had ever seen in his life jumped out of the trees. He was a wood elf; tall, lithe, and absolutely breathtaking. Blaine was mesmerized by his smooth, alabaster skin and his piercing blue eyes. In gazing at him, he noticed a large tattoo on the right side of the elf's face. It looked like some kind of tribal marking, but Blaine could not place if or where he might have seen it before. He decided not to ask about it.

"Wow," Blaine whispered. "I-I mean, my name is Blaine of Wellume. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Blaine was absolutely in awe of the man standing in front of him and shyly offered his hand to shake.

"I'm Kurt," the elf stated sharply, not offering where he was from. "What are you doing out here? No offense, but you don't look like the type to be traipsing around the woods by yourself."

"I can take care of myself just fine, thank you," Blaine replied indignantly, suddenly not liking this handsome man anymore.

"I could have harmed you multiple times in the moments since you noticed my presence," Kurt rebutted.

"You didn't, though, and it makes me curious. Why?"

"I have learned in my 200 years on Ichion that nothing is coincidental and everything has a purpose," Kurt explained. "My happening upon you this morning is no different. We were meant to meet. Where are you heading? Maybe that will give us a clue as to why the Fates crossed our paths?"

"I'm on my way to the Festival of Clane," Blaine said, suddenly realizing that the festival name sounded like their two names put together. "_Surely this IS Fate_," he thought.

"I am, too," Kurt stated, knowing this was not a chance meeting but still not understanding why they were meant to meet. "What are you planning to do while you're there?"

"A magic master is supposed to be there, and I was hoping I could study under him for a while. How about you?"

"I didn't really have a set plan when I started this direction," Kurt began. "I heard another group of travelers talking about the festival, and something was pulling me toward it. So, here I am."

"Would you like to travel together?" Blaine asked, hopeful. He really wanted to spend some more time with this stunning man, no matter how short tempered it seemed he could be.

"I don't travel with other people," Kurt stated firmly, offering no further explanation.

"I understand," Blaine replied dejectedly. "I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for."

As Blaine walked away, Kurt's entire being was screaming at him to follow, but his head was reminding him of what other people were capable of. He'd loved once, and while he couldn't be sure that this pull, whatever it was, was leading him to love, he knew that he had to guard himself. He'd been burned before and the scars still hurt from time to time. With that in mind, he disappeared into the forest.

Blaine traveled for another two days without encountering another being. In his downtime, he would read one of his many books or write in his journal. Most of the books he had read before, though there were a couple that his grandfather, mother, or father must have slipped in without his knowledge. There was also a letter from each of them telling him how proud they were of him and wishing him luck on his journey. Blaine spent a lot of time, both while traveling and resting, thinking about Kurt, not able to get him out of his head. He recalled every feature of the breathtaking elf and replayed the things Kurt had told him. Blaine got the sense that not everything in Kurt's life had been sunshine and rainbows, and he wanted to know more about the mysterious, aloof elf.

Each night, Blaine set up his camp near a water source if he could find one. The forest was peaceful, and the small waterfall that lay at the dip of the river was comforting to Blaine, the sounds reminding him of home. As he bathed the next morning, he again had the sense that he was being watched. He looked through the trees and caught a glimpse of a very familiar pair of eyes.

"Hello, Kurt," Blaine said confidently.

Kurt jumped down gracefully from the trees and replied, "Hello, Blaine."

Blaine conjured his invisible magical servant and commanded him to retrieve his clothes and bring them to him. "_Why is he always catching me bathing?"_ Blaine thought as he dressed and waded to the shore to dry himself.

"Are you following me?" he asked bluntly.

"I wasn't at first," Kurt started. "That nagging sense that we were meant to cross paths, though, made me come looking for you," Kurt said, annoyed he couldn't quite figure out what the sensation was he was feeling was. He did not want to tell Blaine that he had been following him from a distance since they parted. "I still feel drawn to you, and it scares me. But, that is a story for another day."

"I'm sorry that it scares you to be around me," Blaine replied, trying his best to suppress a smile. "I'll do my very best to earn your trust since it seems like we are on the same path for the time being."

"It's not you, per se, Blaine," Kurt replied. "I just prefer to be alone. Or, with animals, specifically wolves."

"Can I ask why? Or is that story for another day, too? I don't want to pressure you into anything you aren't comfortable with," Blaine explained.

"Not yet," Kurt stated. "I'm sure I'll tell you someday, just not right now." Kurt stood in front of Blaine, thinking, "_I feel oddly at ease with this half-elf, and it's kind of freaking me out. I need to make sure I don't let my guard down. Gods know what happened the last time. I need to be sure Blaine isn't like **he** was."_

"No problem, Kurt. Have you eaten breakfast?"

"I have. You?" Kurt asked, knowing that Blaine had, indeed, eaten breakfast.

"I have," Blaine replied. "Would you like to start walking toward Devale?"

"Yes, I would."

After a few somewhat awkward minutes of silence, Blaine started talking about his family and how he grew up. He didn't leave anything out, feeling very comfortable talking to Kurt and telling him things that he might not tell others.

"Did you have any bullying issues at college like you did growing up?" Kurt asked later that evening as they were sitting down to eat the food that Kurt had caught for them.

Blaine was seasoning the food with his magic as he spoke. "Only once, with one student who was only there for a short time. He was a jerk and thought he knew everything. In reality, he couldn't do anything magical at all. He was all talk."

"Sounds like someone I used to know," Kurt said quietly.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Blaine asked. "I know it can be hard, but I've found that talking about the unpleasant parts of our lives gets easier the more we actually do it. Right after it happened, I didn't think I'd ever be able to talk so casually or confidently about my interaction with Sebastian, because…" Blaine stopped at Kurt's gasp.

"Did you say 'Sebastian'?" When Blaine nodded an affirmative, Kurt continued, "What did he look like?"

"He was taller than me, which isn't much of an achievement I guess, and human," Blaine recalled. "Brownish hair and green eyes. He was good looking, but so freaking ugly on the inside that his outside appearance didn't really matter. Why do you ask?"

Kurt took a deep breath and turned away from Blaine. "He was my partner for several years and wasn't always the cold man you seem to have met."

"I'm a good listener if you feel like sharing your story," Blaine offered.

"It's not very pleasant," Kurt began, deciding to continue talking at the open and nonjudgmental look on Blaine's face. "I met him near Cretopia several years-" Kurt cut off when he saw Blaine flinch. "What? What's wrong?"

"That's where my biological father's kingdom is," Blaine explained. "From what I know about him, he's an asshole!"

"Well, Sebastian worshiped King Fenfir, so that really doesn't surprise me," Kurt spat. "Anyway, I was traveling near Cretopia about 10 years ago and met Sebastian. We started talking and I instantly was intrigued by him. He was ambitious and had plans to leave the area. He asked if he could come with me. I hadn't had a companion in a while, so I agreed. He was nice and attentive, and I had been alone for so many years that I guess I was just craving affection of any kind. I didn't realize the little changes in him until he started becoming obsessed with finding power and magic, anything he could get his hands on to hurt others for his own selfish gain. It didn't really matter who he hurt, he just needed to make sure he could if it came down to it. About five years ago, he just left in the middle of the night. He wrote a note for me while I was out hunting saying that he had a lead on a person who could teach him powerful magic, not understanding at all what kind of magic it was. He said he was going to some school on the western coast, hoping they were powerful enough to be able to teach him how to hone in on any magical ability he might have. I think I finally found the school, but when I asked for him, they said he had left almost as soon as he got there. Then, I bumped into you."

"Wow! What a douchebag!" Blaine exclaimed, and Kurt laughed out loud.

"That's an understatement, Blaine," Kurt said through the laugh. "He's a piece of shit who I hope never crosses my path again."

"If he does, though, I'll be by your side, if you'll let me," Blaine explained sincerely. "I feel more comfortable with you than anybody else I've ever been around. I don't necessarily want us to part ways when we get to the festival."

"Maybe our destinies are intertwined, and the festival is just the catalyst to bring us together?" Kurt pondered.

"Maybe…" Blaine responded dreamily. "Well, now that we've eaten, what would you like to do? I usually read for a couple of hours before I put up my hut and sleep for the night."

"Hut?" Kurt questioned.

"While I was studying at Deswore, I learned a lot about magic. History, spells, purposes, and so on. One of the spells I learned allows me to put up a transparent, magical hut. I can see out, but no one can see in. It's always a comfortable temperature inside, and it stays up all night while I sleep so I don't have to worry about my safety at all," Blaine explained.

"That sounds really nice," Kurt replied. "I have a tent I carry around. It's protected me just fine, but I can still get cold, hot, or wet depending on what the weather is doing."

"Would you feel comfortable joining me in my hut tonight? There's plenty of room," Blaine asked, hopeful.

"Can I look inside after it's up and see how I feel?" Kurt asked.

"Of course," Blaine replied. "I know you don't need as much rest as I do. That's another thing the kids used to tease me about. Because my biological father was human, I require twice the sleep of my full-blooded elven kin. It actually just hit me that I'm getting a little tired, so I will get to work on conjuring it and we can rest. I'll only be about 10 minutes."

"Is there anything you need me to do or not do?"

"Nope," Blaine answered. "Just make sure nothing attacks me, and we should be good to go," he added cheekily.

For the next 11 minutes, Blaine conjured the hut using gestures and phrases. He did not necessarily have to take this time; he could just cast the spell. However, he learned at Deswore that each wizard only has a limited number of spells they could perform each day. To use up one of these spots when it wasn't necessary would be a waste, and one should never be wasteful when it comes to using magic. At least that is how Blaine rationalized it.

"Would you like to see inside?" Blaine asked after he finished and gathered his belongings to take inside.

"After you," Kurt answered.

Blaine entered through the doorway, and he felt like he was coming home. It was spacious, big enough to sleep nine or ten people.

"It's nice," Kurt stated. "If the offer is still valid, I think I'd like to sleep in here tonight. It's very comfortable, and I won't have to fight the bugs." Kurt might have lived in the wilderness for the majority of his life, but that did not mean that he liked bugs crawling on him and biting him while he slept.

"Before I go to sleep, I usually put an alarm spell around the hut. Really, it's not necessary, because I can choose who comes in and out. I just like to be extra safe in case someone finds us and dispels the hut. This will take me another 11 minutes to do. If you want to, you can go ahead and settle in. It doesn't matter to me where I sleep," Blaine explained and began to set the alarm.

Kurt was fascinated by Blaine's magic and watched him after he set out his bedroll for sleeping. "How will you know if someone dispels the hut and crosses the barrier?"

"This spell works one of two ways. I can either have it set to alert me in my head or so anyone could hear," Blaine explained as he continued to set the alarm. "Tonight, and any other night that you are in the hut with me, I will also make sure that you can hear the alarm. Is there a way you would prefer?"

"I think making it so anyone could hear it might alert the person who dispelled the hut, so maybe inside our heads?" Kurt reasoned.

"Good plan, Kurt." Blaine finished up the alarm and got out his bedroll as well. "Would you like to talk about anything? I feel like I've talked most of the day, but I would love to learn about you, too…" Blaine said as he yawned.

"How about tomorrow?" Kurt asked. "You look like you're about ready to pass out."

"Sounds goooood," Blaine said, stretching as he drifted off to sleep as soon as his head hit the ground.

Kurt lay there watching Blaine sleep for a couple of hours, thinking about how much he wanted and was willing to tell Blaine about his past. When he decided what he was going to say to him, Kurt finally fell asleep.

Blaine woke the next morning to Kurt re-entering the hut. He was carrying berries in one hand and what appeared to be eggs in the other hand. "I found our breakfast," Kurt explained at Blaine's somewhat bewildered look. He was not used to having meals brought to him anymore.

"Thank you, Kurt," Blaine said. "Let me get out my cookware and start a little fire." Blaine cooked up the berries and eggs, and both boys enjoyed it immensely. Afterwards, they picked up camp, and the spells Blaine had cast dispelled themselves.

"So," Blaine began after walking for an hour or so in comfortable silence, "what do you know about this festival?"

"From what I've heard, it's a holiday celebrated just before the first new moon of autumn. It commemorates an escape of some sort and is associated with discovery, surrender, and mental clarity. The celebrations last 12 days from dusk till dawn. Traditions include public and private quiet contemplation, prayers, and contests of skill," Kurt explained. "Did they not tell you what to expect when they sent you?"

"No, not really," Blaine stated. "I was just informed that a powerful wizard was likely to be there. My teacher hopes he can help me with my personal journey."

"And what might that journey entail?" Kurt asked. "I think that might have been where our conversation was going yesterday when Sebastian was brought up."

"Well, I want to do what I can to stop prejudices and help others learn to accept those that are different," Blaine explained. "I know it will be a difficult journey, but it's something I feel like I have to do."

"I admire you, Blaine," Kurt replied. "I feel like I've been lost most of my life, just drifting from place to place with no real consistency besides the wolf pack that basically raised me." At seeing the curiosity and sincerity in Blaine's eyes, Kurt continued. "I'm an orphan. Technically, I'm the only one left of my clan. When I was seven, a pack of gnolls mauled everyone but me and burned down my village. I still have no idea to this day why they allowed me to live. They seemed sort of startled when they saw me and ran away. So, with no family and no belongings, I wandered until a wolf pack kind of took me in. I left them when I was around 100 years old and have been traveling ever since, being led by the gods, feeling like I'm just waiting for someone important to come into my life, something big to happen."

"Thank you for sharing that with me," Blaine said with tears in his eyes, silently hoping that he was the someone Kurt has been pulled toward by the gods. "I can't imagine what that must have been like for you, and it makes so much more sense to me why you are distrusting of others. Especially after your relationship with Sebastian and all that he did to you. I wonder if we might be able to find some answers as to why that happened to your village when we talk to Alin."

"I'm pretty much resolved to not knowing at this point," Kurt explained. "I've made peace with it. However, I won't turn down information if it's offered."

The remainder of the trip toward Devale was spent in much lighter conversations, the boys telling stories about anything and everything and becoming closer. Each night, Blaine would study his spellbook and write in his journal. Kurt would ask about his magic sometimes, trying to remember if anyone in his village ever utilized it, but it was hard to recall since he had been so young when his clan was taken from him. They made camp outside of the city the day before the festival started and followed the same routine they had every night since they started their journey together.

Blaine learned on the first day of the festival that Alin was not due to make his appearance until the fourth day. Each of the boys took in the festival on their own, visiting different vendors and buying new equipment. On the fourth day, Kurt purchased a new bow from one of the stalls.

"This here is _Tiebreaker, Pledge of the Lone Victor_," the dwarf seller stated. He was a portly dwarf, with his gut hanging over his pants and his thumbs tucked in his pockets. He used his head to gesture to the items he was selling. "This here commendable recurve longbow has been superbly constructed with dwarven steel." He wiggled his eyebrows at Kurt as if that should mean something to him. "Its string is made from first-class dragon sinew, a fairly common material around my part of the world. The limbs have intricate carve work and sharp edges on the end. The stock is wrapped in ebon, and you can see it's got rune-like symbols. Don't ask me what they are, 'cuz I don't know. The quiver? It's made from gen-u-ine rare leather of some poor beast my kin killed. The outside's decorated with thread which doesn't have a particular meanin' and it just makes it purty. In the hands of a trained archer, this bow can fire arrows up to 200 feet while still retainin' lethal power. You a trained archer?"

"Yes, I am," Kurt answered. "How much?"

"This here will cost you 200 gold pieces for everythin'," the merchant answered.

"How about 150, and you've got yourself a deal?" Kurt countered.

Sensing that this was as high as the elf would go, the dwarf seller accepted. "This bow can be imbued with magic. If you can find someone who knows how to do it, that is."

Kurt nodded in thanks and went to find Blaine. He found him near the fountain in front of the cathedral in the center of Devale, talking to one of the wizards that was sitting there. "This fountain is said to be filled with rejuvenating water," the halfling wizard explained to Blaine. "If you have been wounded, drinking this water will help heal you."

"Can anybody take the water?" Blaine asked, thinking that it would be a good idea to have some. He had no idea what their future might bring, and he didn't know any healing spells.

"Of course," the halfling said. "The water is free for anyone to have."

"Thank you," Blaine said and filled up his waterskin with the rejuvenating water from the fountain. He noticed Kurt beside him and motioned for him to fill the two waterskins he carried on his belt. "May I ask, why are the six of you just sitting around the fountain?"

"Each year, my companions and I come here, hoping that this is the year the great prophecy will be proclaimed," the halfling explained. "It is said that the great Alin will announce the prophecy when the time has come for change. The change is to come at the hands of a few individuals, one of which will be the cause of that change. So, each year, we come, hoping to be part of the prophecy and bringers of change."

Just as the wizard finished explaining this to Blaine and Kurt, the ground began to rumble and panic set in around them. Blaine didn't know what was going on, but his first instinct was to protect Kurt. He put up his magical hut instantly, feeling in the pit of his stomach that something horrible was about to happen. Suddenly, the cathedral exploded, and all of the merchants and their stalls were laid to waste. Everyone at the festival was turned to dust by the power of the explosion. Blaine and Kurt could see the destruction briefly as smoke started rising around the rest of the town. Whatever caused this, it was not accidental.


	4. The Prophecy

Tags: Minor Character Death, Monsters, Prophecy

A/N: The battle mechanics in Dungeons and Dragons are based on taking turns. Each player (both friendly and enemy) rolls a die and that is what decides the order of battle. This chapter will be the first place where combat happens and it will simulate the turn-taking structure of a real DD battle. (Just a side note for anyone who does play DD, I rolled each and every battle that will take place in this story, and created maps with the movement for several of them. It was time-consuming, and somewhat not necessary, but I feel it made it more authentic.) I hope you enjoy!

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It took a while for the dust to settle to the point that Blaine was comfortable coming out of the hut. Kurt had initially been in shock, the scene reminiscent of what he had experienced as a child when his whole town was demolished. Blaine, on instinct, held Kurt and tried to make sure he was grounded in the present. "You're safe. You're safe," he murmured over and over again, rubbing up and down his arms. "I'll protect you."

Blaine was able to eventually calm Kurt down, and they wept together for the loss that surrounded them. In the short amount of time that Kurt had known Blaine, he had learned that he wanted to help people, and it devastated him when he wasn't able to. When he was finally calm, and Blaine wasn't focused on him solely anymore, Kurt could see Blaine's thoughts trailing. "Don't. Don't start down that line of thinking. You could have been hurt. Or worse, killed," he said gently, pulling Blaine into a tight hug. "I know you have big plans for your life, but you can't change anything if you put yourself in danger."

Blaine was not sure how Kurt knew these were the thoughts he was having; he was just glad that he had intervened before his thoughts could take him too far.

Once both boys were emotionally calmed down, Blaine walked out of the hut with his crossbow and spells at the ready. Kurt followed behind him with Tiebreaker, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings. Almost instantly, the boys noticed movement coming from the cathedral ruins and aimed their weapons at the approaching figure.

"I mean you no harm, young ones," an ancient high elf said. "I am Alin, and I am just as shocked at this as you are."

"Master Alin!" Blaine exclaimed and ran over to him, Kurt hot on his heels, his bow still drawn. "I was sent here by Headmaster Edyrin at Deswore to meet with you. What happened?"

"We've been having more and more trouble with purists in the area," Alin stated. "It seems that the rumors were true. There has been gossip that an uprising was on the horizon, and the purists were going to 'announce' their presence in a big way. I-"

Master Alin stopped at seeing Kurt's tattoo. He had seen that symbol before, and had heard terrible stories about the clan of gnolls to which the symbol belonged. "Child, why do you wear the mark of the Blood Fang Moon Clan?"

"They killed my family, my clan. I wear it as a reminder of what they did and how far I've come," Kurt answered tersely. "It's to remind me that I am strong and can overcome great sorrow and evil." Wanting to change the subject, Kurt asked, "I don't understand. What are the purist's hoping to accomplish?"

"They want to do away with, or at the very least separate, those of mixed lineage from the rest of the races," Alin stated. "Some radical got it in his mind that anyone who wasn't of a pureblooded lineage needed to be segregated or eliminated, and many others agreed with him. Preposterous if you ask me, which they clearly haven't."

"How are they planning to do this, and who is in charge?" Blaine asked determinately.

"Omno P-" Alin started to say as his hand clasped down on Blaine's shoulder. His eyes glazed over, and he spoke in a monotone voice, though he seemed to be in some kind of trance. "**The day the wolves howl together will be the beginning of the age of acceptance, ushered in by the binder and his companions with the silver-scaled mark.**" When the last word was uttered, Alin's eyes went back to their original shade of green and looked at the two men in front of him, removing his hand from Blaine's shoulder and not quite remembering why he had put it there. Each of them wore expressions of shock on their faces. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Alin asked.

As Blaine was about to answer him, he noticed thin, green rays of light surrounding Alin. Then, the wizard just disappeared and all that was left behind was a pile of ash.

"What in the fuck just happened?" Kurt asked. "Can magic really do that, or are we dealing with other forces here?"

"It's not a spell I know how to do just yet," Blaine explained quietly, "though I know it is one I am capable of learning as I practice more and my magic gets stronger. It literally disintegrates you and everything you are wearing [Disintegrate] and there are only two spells that I know of that can bring someone back from it. My guess is, he was injured from the blast somehow, and it didn't take a whole lot to finish him off. The person that cast the spell has to be nearby, so stay alert." _Why didn't they kill us too I wonder…_

As if Kurt could read Blaine's mind, he asked, "Why didn't they disintegrate us as well? We were standing right by him, and it would have been easy enough to do. Any thoughts?"

"I was just thinking the same thing, and I've come up with a couple of ideas. Maybe they only heard the last part of what Alin was telling us or didn't even know he was telling us anything. Maybe they were just sent here to kill him. Or, maybe they ran out of magic, and, since they only had one shot, they wanted to take him out since he obviously has more knowledge and skills than either of us do. You see, as a wizard, I don't have access to limitless magic, at least not powerful magic. A spell as powerful as that I would only be able to cast once a day, and I would want to be **SURE **that I was going to succeed if I cast it. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I think it does," Kurt replied. "So, there are some lower level, easier spells that you could cast as much as you wanted, but the stronger, higher level magic takes more out of you, and you can only cast those spells an allotted amount of times before you have to rest and regain your strength. Did I get it right?"

"Yep; that's pretty spot-on," Blaine answered.

"What was it that Alin was saying before he wasn't there anymore?" Kurt asked, feeling scared, nervous, and irrationally irritated at the elf for just disappearing on them without finishing his explanation of the cryptic message they were given.

"I don't know for sure, Kurt," Blaine started. "I've read about something like this happening though. From what I can remember, this seems like a prophecy, and it is no coincidence, as I'm sure you know, that it was spoken to the two of us. We have to be part of the prophecy."

"Well, shit!" Kurt responded. "Just great. I'm not the 'ushering in' kind of elf. I'm a loner, a hunter, and forager; I'm not equipped to do this. Maybe I'm not part of it... perhaps it was just meant for you to hear, and, since we met up…"

"Kurt," Blaine said hesitantly. "Look at your left hand."

Kurt looked down at his hand and saw a patch of silver scales that covered a large part of the back of his hand, just as it had been foretold in the words Alin spoke. When he looked back to Blaine, he noticed the half-elf holding both of his hands in front of him, staring at them in awe.

"I'm the binder," Blaine whispered. "My scale markings are on both hands. Unless you're the binder, but you only have scales on one of your hands. I guess we won't know for sure until we find the others. I wonder how many others there are." Just then, there was once again movement from the cathedral ruins. Blaine and Kurt drew their weapons and aimed them at the half-orc and human that were emerging from the rubble.

"Please," the human woman in white robes pled. "We mean you no harm."

"Forgive us for not believing you. The last person who said those words to us just vanished right in front of us after spouting off a prophecy with no explanation," Kurt snarkily replied.

"Do you mean that Master Alin is no longer among us?" the half-orc male in black robes asked.

"It would appear that he was magically disintegrated," Blaine explained, "though I cannot be sure, because I am not capable of that level of magic at the moment. I've only read about it. His ashes are right here. I know that if he were to be brought back to life, the ashes would need to be collected."

"Thank you. My name is Aedwen," the female stated. "Thirk and I respected Alin. If his time here was over, then his destiny has been fulfilled, and his last mission was relaying the message to you two. Please, what are your names?"

"I'm Blaine," he said. "And this is Kurt."

"I see you have the marks," Thirk observed. "You, sir elf, are a companion, I believe. And you, sir half-elf, I would guess are the binder. This is just speculation on my part, and you won't know until the other companions are found for sure and see whose marks are different. It is the binder's job to gather the others and make sure the prophecy is fulfilled."

"Now wait a damn minute," Kurt interrupted. "How is it that you know this prophecy if it was just spoken to us? Is there a book of prophecies somewhere just waiting to be spoken and passed on to their intended recipients?"

"Pretty much," Blaine answered. "At least, that's how I understand that they work," he said, looking to Aedwen and Thirk for confirmation. They both nodded their heads in agreement.

"This particular prophecy we have been most anxious to see come to fruition," Aedwen explained. "We aren't quite sure how many total companions there will be, but we are sure that they will have silver scales on one, or both of their hands."

"Aedwen had just finished scrying before we came up here. We were wondering if the blast could have been the catalyst for this prophecy, as we have been waiting for it and sensed it coming nearer. As far as we can estimate, your next companion should be somewhere in the vicinity of Frosa," Thirk explained. "We do not know what they will look like or how you will find them, though. Fate is on your side. Remember that you are meant to find these people, and they will come into your path some way or another." After he was finished talking, Thirk walked away, leaving Aedwen to finish giving them their instructions.

"What is scrying?" Kurt asked skeptically.

"Scrying," Blaine explained, "is a way for the one casting the spell to see and hear through a creature that they choose. I wasn't aware that it could work with an unknown person, but I guess it makes sense that it would. The one who is targeted could resist, and it seems like our luck has started since this one did not."

"You're right, Blaine," Aedwen said. "I was able to see through the creature's eyes, and hear what was going on around them and heard that Frosa was where they were headed. I'm sorry I can't give you more information than that though, especially as far as what they look like."

"The information you have been able to give us is wonderful, and we are grateful to you for passing it along," Blaine said.

"It will be best for you both to travel underground right now. We have no idea if the cowards who did this to our town are still around," Aedwen stated. "There is a tunnel that will take you to Frosa. It passes through some mines, but if you tell anyone you meet who sent you, they will help you. Here, let me show you to the tunnel."

"Thank you for all of your help, Aedwen," Blaine stated. "Please tell Thirk we thank him as well, though he doesn't seem as friendly and open as you do."

"We come from different places and have different thoughts on certain things," Aedwen replied. "He believes in balance and is more lenient in views of how that balance is achieved."

Blaine didn't want to ask any more questions as to how Thirk achieved balance. He was walking so close to Kurt that their hands brushed, and when they did, Kurt's eyes glazed over, and he spoke in a monotone voice, **"The blue one you seek is in the smiling city."**

After relaying the message, Kurt's eyes blinked back to normal, and he was confused as to why Blaine and Aedwen were starting at him. "What?" he asked.

"Your eyes just glazed over like Alin's did, and you spoke about a blue one in a smiling city," Blaine said.

"I am certain," Aedwen said, "now more than I was before, that you, Blaine, are the binder. It would seem that when you find a new companion, they will be able to give you the location of the next one, but what triggers that?" she asked, not having seen Blaine and Kurt's hands brush.

"My hand brushed up against his," Blaine offered. "Could that be the trigger? Physical contact?"

"That very well could be," Aedwen replied. "Alright then, let's get you on your way."

Aedwen led Blaine and Kurt to a small staircase that descended into seemingly never-ending darkness. "This is not a path that I have personally traveled, but Thirk assures me that it is quite safe. Trust each other and those that you gather. You will be the change that I have been looking forward to seeing all of my life. I am so thankful that I have been able to help, even if it has been in a small way." Aedwen bestowed a kiss on each of their cheeks and then turned away.

Blaine cast [Dancing Lights] four silver, glowing orbs that floated ahead of the boys several feet. They walked for about 30 minutes before they came to a three-way stop. "Should we split and each take one door then go through the last together?" Kurt asked. He didn't really want to do that, but he didn't want Blaine to think he was afraid of being alone.

"I think, for now, at least, let's stick together," Blaine suggested.

"I agree," Kurt replied, relieved. "Shall we go through the door on the right first?"

Blaine opened the door, and the boys were immediately hit with the stench of body odor that had them gagging back vomit. Holding their elbows over their noses, they entered the room, lit with the aid of Blaine's magical dancing lights. There was a candle on a desk and what appeared to be a robe that looked similar to the one that Thirk was wearing. "It doesn't look like there's anything here. Center or left door next?" Blaine asked closing the door and hoping that the smell did not follow them.

"I have a feeling that the center door is the one that will lead us through the rest of the tunnel, so let's check the left one first," Kurt suggested.

Kurt pulled this door open with gusto and was surprised that the smell was not as strong in this room. He walked to a cabinet on the wall and found 10 gold pieces. Then, he saw a letter on the desk nearby. Kurt showed it to Blaine, who read it. The correspondence was actually a daily log of activities, mainly talking about sacrifices to "the cause." Each page ended in the phrase, "All Hail Omno Persan."

"Shit," Blaine muttered.

"What is it?" Kurt asked with genuine concern.

"All of these letters end the same way, 'All Hail Omno Persan,'" Blaine stated. "Have you ever heard of him?"

"The name sounds familiar," Kurt answered, "but I'm not sure who he is or what he stands for."

"From what I've learned," Blaine began, "he is a high elf purist who wants to eradicate all half-breeds. He wants us to be separated and then eliminated if at all possible. He has a small following in my hometown of Wellume, and Sebastian alluded to him being quite heavily supported by the people of Cretopia."

"Why, though?" Kurt asked, genuinely baffled.

"I'm not sure," Blaine explained. "Maybe we will find someone on our journey that can help us to understand. I refuse to be a victim, and we have a chance to teach everyone that half-breeds are just like everyone else. Prejudice is just ignorance, Kurt, and this has been something that has followed me my whole life. I am gods damned tired of it. I didn't ask for my life to be this way, but I wouldn't change it one bit. All of the trials I have encountered have made me who I am, and, more importantly, they've led me to this mission and to you. I can't explain it, but I have this feeling in my soul that there is an even bigger reason that we met."

"I feel it too, Blaine," Kurt replied. "And if I'm honest, it scares me. I'm scared of getting my hopes up thinking that this might turn into a long-term companionship, because all I've ever known is death, loneliness, and heartbreak. However, I don't get the sense that that will happen between us. You're very quickly becoming my best friend and someone I feel completely safe around."

"Ditto," Blaine said, voice full of an emotion he didn't really didn't know how to express at that moment. After he took a breath and a moment to regain his composure, he said, "Should we go through the last door?"

"We should," Kurt replied as he grabbed the gold that was in the cabinet and put it in his pocket. If those jerks supporting that purist guy were sacrificing things in his name, they could surely do it without those coins.

Blaine opened the final door and went into the room. It appeared to be a combined bedroom and office. In the center of the room sat a circular bed with black satin sheets. To the right, there was a bedside table, and a chest sat on the left. Toward the far side of the room, there was a desk that had papers and journals on it. As Blaine was heading toward the writing table, a half-orc in dark robes adorned with a religious looking symbol blinked into the room, seeming to appear out of nowhere. Blaine had learned this spell at the college, and he had struggled to perfect it so much that it wasn't one he used unless he absolutely had to.

"Well, hello gentlemen," the half-orc said in a sultry tone. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence in my personal chambers?" He glanced at both of the boys but made a show of slowly dragging his eyes up and down Kurt's body.

Not liking the way he was looking at Kurt, Blaine got defensive, "This is the way we were directed to get out of here. Believe me, we are in no way here for your pleasure!"

"Forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Sitroll Mord," he said, slowly taking each of the men in again, and lusting over each of them. "Perhaps we got off on the wrong…" he stopped mid-thought, noticing the scales on each of their hands. Suddenly, his expression hardened. "You won't find anything here to help with your pathetic mission." Sitrol had heard of a prophecy, and gathered that the explosion had likely been the catalyst to it beginning. That and the purists were all in a frenzy over something that nobody would talk to him about. "Beings like us will never fit in." And with that, he blinked away.

"What in the actual fuck just happened?" Kurt asked.

"My guess is that he first thought we were here to 'be' with him," Blaine explained, also shocked by what had just transpired. "He must have seen the scales…"

The boys would never find out that Sitrol was actually working for the purists in exchange for his own life. The purists had found him and wanted to kill him for being a half-breed, however, he negotiated with them instead. He was able to recruit dark beings and had a lot of pull in various circles, and in return, they spared him.

"There has to be something here that we can use to maybe gain some more insight as to what we are dealing with or where we need to focus our attentions," Kurt thought aloud.

Blaine paused and allowed himself time to focus and connect with the spark of magic within and then slowly reached out to see if any arcane traces existed in the room. He felt magical energies coming from both the bedside table and the chest beside it. "It might not help us in the long run, but there are magical items in this room," he told Kurt.

He first went to the chest and noticed a generic-looking lock on it with a number combination. "Any thoughts on what number might unlock this?" Blaine asked Kurt.

"Well, that orc guy seemed to know about the prophecy, so maybe something to do with that?" Kurt offered.

"It's as good a guess as any," Blaine replied. "So, we've got wolves, companions, and a binder. Let's play with a few numbers and see what happens."

Blaine tried a few combinations, growing frustrated when none of them seemed to work. Finally, after multiple attempts, he cast a spell on the lock, forcing the correct combination to appear. It was 251. "Two, five, one," he muttered, clicking in each of the numbers before the chest opened. Inside, he found 500 gold pieces, 4 rubies, a dagger, a black robe identical to the one he was wearing, a black pearl necklace, and a spellbook that looked like it was written in Abyssal. Blaine had learned Abyssal at the university and knew that it was the language of the demons. His justification for learning it, along with Celestial and Draconic, was that he would need to understand different tongues if he was to help and protect others. "This book is filled with extremely dark magic, something I wouldn't want to know or practice. It's also not something I want to leave here for someone else to get their hands on," Blaine explained.

"We should take it all with us," Kurt said. "Perhaps we will find a use for the other things and a way to destroy the spellbook if you'd like."

"Yes," Blaine agreed. "I think that sounds like a good idea."

"Was the book one of the magical items you sensed?" Kurt asked.

"Yes. The other item I sensed is on or around the bedside table."

Kurt went over to the table and only found a mirror on it. When he picked it up, nothing happened. He didn't see his reflection and it just stayed blank. Confused, he turned to Blaine. "This is the only thing here, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything."

"Let me try something," Blaine responded. He held the mirror in his hands and cast a spell [Identify] on it, knowing that it would allow him to understand what magical properties the mirror had as well as how to use them. Kurt had seen him do similar magic and knew it would take a while to get the answers he was looking for. So, he roamed around the room, looking for anything else that might be useful. On the desk, he found journals and papers that Sitroll had kept. The journals appeared to be his own personal diary, and the letters were correspondences from someone of a religious order. Kurt put them all in his backpack, figuring he would look at them later when he had more time.

"The mirror is a scrying mirror," Blaine explained. "It cannot be held when it is being used which is why it didn't do anything when you tried earlier." Blaine set the mirror up and spoke to it. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

After just a few moments, a young gnome woman came into view. "You are not my master," she stated, confused.

"I am guessing you mean Sitroll Mord?" Blaine asked. When the girl nodded, Blaine said, "He's not here right now. What's your name, and where are you? I'm Blaine, and this is Kurt," Blaine explained as Kurt stepped in front of the mirror.

"My name is Liddel," the girl said. "I'm from Slosa originally, but I've been here for a little over a month if my calculations are correct."

The boys talked to Liddel about where she was and why she was there. She told them that she did not know exactly where she was but that it was warm and smelled of lilacs. She added that she was visiting the markets one day in Slosa, and, out of nowhere, a man grabbed her and transported her to the tower she was now in. She told them that the man, who they clarified was Sitrol Mord, visited once a week, but the times were inconsistent. Liddel expressed to them that Sitroll had not told her what he was doing with her either.

"I don't know if our journey will take us to your homeland," Blaine told Liddel. "If it does, we will make sure to let your family know about your circumstances. Maybe they will be able to find you, though we will be looking out for the place you've described as we travel."

"Thank you for your help," Liddel replied. "I guess it is time for you to move on, and I will see you when you activate the mirror next."

"We will check in soon," Kurt replied before Blaine put the mirror into his bag of holding.

"Wow," Blaine exclaimed. "I can't imagine being abducted like that. I wonder what Sitroll wants with her?"

"Who knows?" Kurt answered. "While you were doing whatever it was you were doing earlier, I checked the rest of the room. I found some letters and journals that I figured we would look at later. Let's get out of here. Unless you sensed anything else." He paused, waiting to be sure they'd discovered as much as they could in the bedroom.

"Nope. The two places we checked were all I was sensing," Blaine answered. "If you checked the desk, I think it's safe to say we've gotten everything we can here. Let's get out of this creepy place!"

It took Blaine and Kurt awhile to find the door leading into a new section of the tunnel. It blended in with the surrounding wall, but Kurt finally found it, pushing it open with a heavy groan. Blaine cast his magical lights, and they started walking. He and Kurt continued to bond, becoming more and more comfortable around one another with every step. Each boy would longingly look at the other when they didn't think they were being watched, both of them falling for each other without saying a word. Each night, Blaine would conjure his hut, and the boys would fall asleep quickly, waking up the next morning, noticing they had gravitated toward each other throughout the night. Neither of them ever mentioned it.

It took them four days to reach an opening in the tunnel. What they saw in front of them was a large cavern with a stream running through it. There were stalactites and stalagmites near the edges, and it looked as though some had been manually moved to make larger paths to walk around. When they came upon the cavern, they saw a sign that read, "Stop feeding the twins rats. It makes their breath smell bad."

"Twins?" Kurt wondered aloud.

About that time, two enormous, white, snake-like creatures covered in fur popped up out of the water. Their faces resembled that of a cat, complete with a triangle nose and whiskers. They did not seem to be looking to harm the boys; it was more like they were curious about the two newcomers.

"I've read about these creatures," Blaine said. "They are called Uakari. They are very friendly and have no eyes, though what they lack in sight, they make up for in other areas. Their sense of hearing and smell is outstanding."

"They are oddly beautiful," Kurt commented as one of them slithered up to him. He reached up to pet the creature. "I wish we could take you with us. I'm not sure where we are going is any place for such a docile being, though."

"You're right, Kurt," Blaine stated, standing next to him and petting the Uakari as well. "They belong down here where they are obviously well taken care of."

"CANNONBALL!" a dwarf who came out of nowhere yelled as he ran and jumped into the water, completely nude.

"What the actual fuck just happened?" Blaine asked Kurt as the dwarf returned to the surface. "Excuse me," Blaine called to the nude dwarf who was in the water. "Is there a way out of here through the tunnel you came from?"

The startled dwarf sputtered, not expecting anyone to be there at all. "Possibly," the dwarf answered, suspicious. "Who are ya, and where're ya goin'?"

"My name is Blaine, and this is Kurt," Blaine answered. "We are trying to get to Frosa, and this was the only direction we could go from where we came."

"'m Bergus," the dwarf said. "Gimme a minute ta get dressed, an' I'll take ya back to camp. Balmuk runs this here mine. You c'n talk ta him."

Bergus got out of the pool shamelessly and put his clothes on. He looked Kurt up and down, which irritated Blaine to no end. Bergus winked at Blaine, seeing the glare he was giving him, and strutted, fucking strutted, to the opening of the cavern.

"I don't like him," Blaine muttered.

"Why not?" Kurt asked, missing the whole exchange in favor of petting the Uakari nearest to him. "He seemed pleasant enough to me."

"I just don't," Blaine stated. He couldn't tell Kurt he was jealous of the clearly lustful looks he'd been getting lately. It wasn't like they were in a relationship or anything. "Let's go meet this Balmuk guy."

Kurt bade the Uakari goodbye reluctantly. He really was becoming attached to the creatures, and it was probably a good thing that he could not take them with him.

Blaine and Kurt followed Bergus through the tunnels, the three of them making small talk as they went. After about 20 minutes, they could hear voices and other sounds of life. They eventually reached another opening, this time filled with mostly dwarfs. A few humans and half-orcs roamed around as well.

"Balmuk," Bergus called to a dwarf on the other side of the cavern. "These two 'r askin' f'r passage through the mines." He pointed at them with his thumbs.

"Where is it you're going?" Balmuk asked.

Blaine asked if they could go somewhere more private to talk, not knowing how the news he would share would be received. Once they reached Balmuk's tent, Blaine and Kurt told him about what had happened at the festival and briefly explained the mission they were embarking on. Balmuk told them how to get through the mines and then how to get to Frosa from the opening they would come to. He explained that there were quite a few other beings they may happen across due to the purists pushing half-breeds underground.

"There have been some sightings of people who don't act quite right toward the entrance of the cave," Balmuk added as he walked the boys to the tunnel they would follow. "Something about them having weird smiles and acting really sweet. I don't know exactly what's going on, so be careful." Balmuk provided them with rations and water prior to sending them on their way down the tunnel.

The boys walked for two hours before they both got a weird feeling in their cores. They looked at each other, and Blaine telepathically communicated [Rary's Telepathic Bond] with Kurt through magic, [_"Do you feel that?"]_

_["If you mean the disturbing feeling in my stomach, then yes, I do,"]_ answered Kurt.

_["Stay on guard and be ready for anything,"]_ Blaine warned. [_"I have a feeling we are going to have to fight our way out of this tunnel."]_

They took five more steps before they encountered their first foe in an opening in the tunnel, a dwarf who had a glazed look in his eyes, almost like his body was there but his mind was not. Blaine noticed immediately. [_"He looks like he's being possessed by something. Defend yourself, but look out for whoever is controlling him,"]_ he said to Kurt.

Kurt and Blaine defended themselves for a few minutes, trying to do as little damage to the dwarves as possible. Four more had appeared near the first one, joining him in his zombie-like attacks on the boys. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Blaine noticed movement. [_"Over to the left,"]_ he told Kurt.

As Kurt drew and launched an arrow, Blaine cast a spell [Shatter]. When the spell hit the creature, it screamed out in pain, the spell causing intensely loud thunder to erupt in its mind. Between the arrow and the magical damage, the creature was knocked out, and the dwarves' effects were immediately broken.

"Are you all ok?" Blaine asked as he made his way toward the fallen creature.

"What happened?" one of the dwarfs asked, looking dazed.

Kurt explained what he and Blaine had seen to the dwarves as Blaine approached the fallen creature. It appeared to be an arachne, part spider and part female elf. [_"I think she was driven down here. She's a half-breed,"]_ Blaine related to Kurt.

"Do any of you know your way back to Balmuk?" Kurt asked the dwarves.

"I do," one of them volunteered.

"Could you fetch him for me, please?" Kurt asked.

_["I have an idea,"]_ Kurt told Blaine.

_["I trust you,"]_ Blaine answered. He checked over the arachne to make sure she was still knocked out but stable.

Nearly five hours later, Balmuk arrived in the opening. He noticed several other dwarfs resting and recuperating as well as the two men he had sent through the mines earlier standing near something he had never seen before.

"Balmuk, thank you for coming," Blaine stated.

"Dothun said that I was needed, and, when he described you two, I was curious. He couldn't tell me much about where he had been the last several days, though," Balmuk said, edging nearer to Kurt and Blaine nervously.

"When we came into this opening, he and the others here began attacking us," Blaine stated, gesturing to the relaxing dwarves. "I could tell that they were under some sort of possession spell, so I knew that the creature casting the magic would have to be nearby, hence the arachne here. She is knocked out, but not dead." He pointed to the creature at his feet. "I believe, though I'm not sure, that she was driven here by the purists. She may have no place else to go."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Balmuk asked. The creature looked terrifying, and he wanted nothing to do with it.

"That's completely up to you," Blaine answered. "She may be a good ally if she's willing. Otherwise, you could tell her where to go in exchange for her keeping her life."

"You are a very compassionate one, Master Blaine," Balmuk stated. He hadn't even considered the possibility of her being an ally, just an enemy.

"I understand what it feels like to have people ostracize and demean you for simply being," Blaine answered in a gentle but firm tone.

Balmuk nodded in understanding and said that he would personally talk with the arachne once she woke.

With thankful smiles and well-wishes, Blaine and Kurt continued through the tunnel until they came to the doorway leading out of the tunnel. Emerging, they noticed a town about a half-mile away. They started walking toward it and talked about what transpired in the tunnel, agreeing that the arachne would not be the last foe they would encounter. As they got closer to the town, they noticed two elves dressed in golden armor with the largest, eerily cheerful smiles on their faces.

"Hello," the guards said in unison, still smiling. "Welcome to Frosa."


	5. The First Companions

["_Well, they're creepy!_"] Blaine told Kurt through his magic. He turned, schooling his features. "Hello, I am Blaine," he introduced himself.

The guard on the left replied, "I am Felven, and this is Cloven. We are guards of our fair city." His giant, wide smile didn't change as he swept his hand behind him at the impressive silhouette.

"It's beautiful," Kurt answered, noticing the tall, well-kept buildings and clean streets beyond the gates. He also noticed how quiet the town seemed, especially for mid-morning.

"So far, it's a very cheerful place," Blaine noticed somewhat sarcastically. If the guards detected the emotion, they didn't react to it.

"Is there a particular reason you are visiting?" Cloven asked, still grinning. "Not that we don't have passersby. I just ask because I'd be more than happy to help if I can."

"We're looking for someone, though we aren't exactly sure who," Blaine answered cautiously, not wanting to give too much of their plan away. His intuition was yelling at him that it wasn't sure these two could be trusted.

"Hopefully, whoever you are looking for is still here," Felven replied, grin never faltering. "There was a group of about 100 people who left in a caravan not four days ago. They were planning to attend the last few days of the Festival of Clane."

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other and had a silent conversation about whether or not they should tell these guards what had happened. Blaine imperceptibly shook his head, "no."

"You might check with the senator of the city at Peterfax Mansion to see if he can help you find who you are looking for," Cloven offered, still smiling. He pointed toward a building in the distance though offered no direction. "He knows everyone in town, and if there is any information you can give him, he would be the one most likely to help track down whoever it is."

"We will do just that," Blaine answered, not knowing how the guards would respond if he disagreed with them. "Thank you for your assistance, gentlemen."

After they were out of earshot of the guards, Kurt got a little closer to Blaine to avoid anyone else hearing and asked, "Could you do that telepathic spell? I have a feeling we are going to need it."

"Good idea," Blaine answered.

Kurt led them toward what he assumed was Peterfax Mansion while Blaine took his time to prepare the spell. As they were walking, Kurt noticed that every single person they came across had the same kind of smile that the guards had. Each resident of the city gawked at them as they walked past, grins pulling the corners of their mouths toward their ears.

["_We're good to go now_,"] Blaine telepathically said to Kurt. ["_The spell will only last for an hour before I will have to recast it, so we will just need to keep an eye on the time_."]

["_Everybody has that same creepy smile. Even the kids I've seen_,"] Kurt said. "I think that's the place we're looking for," Kurt said aloud, pointing toward an enormous house with ornate carvings on the pillars at the front.

["_I wonder what's causing the smiles?_"] Blaine asked. ["_They aren't natural, that's for sure._"]

They approached the mansion, and Kurt knocked on the door.

"May I help you?" a man dressed as a butler asked with the same abnormal smile the boys were becoming accustomed to.

"We're passing through the city, looking for someone along the way, and the guards told us that the senator would be the best person to help us find them," Kurt explained as Blaine took in their surroundings.

"The senator isn't in," the butler answered. "His wife is if you'd like to speak with her, however."

"Will he be available tomorrow?" Blaine asked, telling Kurt, ["_I'm not getting good feelings from this house_."]

"As far as I know, he will be available after breakfast," the butler stated.

"We will try again then if you don't mind," Blaine answered.

"I will look for you mid-morning then," the butler responded cheerily and closed the door without another word.

"Let's find someplace to stay tonight. Then, I can see if there is a being or a place in this town that isn't affected by whatever is going on," Blaine said as the boys headed down the steps and away from the Peterfax Mansion.

The Stately Shark Inn was easy to find as the city wasn't terribly big, and most of the businesses seemed to be in one central area. Once they had a room, paid for using the money they found in Sitroll Mord's chambers, Blaine sat down and tried to sense if there was a gap in the magical energy of this town. He detected that there was one area in the very northwest corner of the city that seemed to have little to no magical signal coming from it.

"I think I might have found a place where we could get answers," Blaine told Kurt excitedly.

"Lead the way," Kurt stated. "I want to find whoever it is we're supposed to and get the hell out of here. This place gives me chills."

"Me too," Blaine replied with a shudder.

The boys walked toward the area with no magic and came to a small book shop. Inside, they saw an older human man with long, wavy, gray hair and suntanned brown skin who appeared to be missing an ear. He looked up from the counter when the two walked into his shop.

"Hello, gentlemen," the man said. "How can I help you?"

"We just got into town today, and I can't help but notice that you don't have a smile on your face like the others do," Blaine observed.

"I was out of town when...something...happened to them," the man replied. "They've been like this since I returned three days ago. Only one other strange event has happened, and it's more disturbing than the smiles."

"Forgive me for not introducing myself properly. My name is Blaine, and this is my travel companion, Kurt. We were actually sent to Frosa to find another companion, and now I feel Fate might have had an additional reason to send us here." He wanted to ask what other strange thing was happening, but the man seemed like he might want to keep it a secret.

"It is very nice you meet you both. My name is Oliver Duststone, and I've lived in Frosa all of my life. I've never seen anything like what's going on right now," he explained. "Right after I returned, I noticed the smiles. How could I not? They're not exactly subtle. What's really worrisome, though, is the kids disappearing each night."

"Kids are disappearing?" Kurt asked, horrified and trying to not let his mind wander to his own childhood when everyone was taken from his life.

"Yes. A boy and a girl from the local orphanage have disappeared each night, and nobody can find them," Oliver stated.

"Blaine, we need to find them," Kurt pleaded.

"Is there any other information you can give us?" Blaine asked. He'd been watching the bookseller who seemed to be studying them carefully. He felt that Oliver was just being careful; nothing seemed off about him.

"I wish I could," Oliver replied regretfully. "There is a young, blue dragonborn over at the monastery that just arrived yesterday. Like me, he is the only other one I have come across not affected by whatever the majority of the town has. He might be able to help you, because, let's face it, I'm not as young as I once was," he joked dryly.

"You've been very helpful and informative, and for that, we thank you very much!" Kurt expressed.

"I hope to come back and look through your store before we leave town," Blaine said before walking toward the door. "I am very fond of books, and I can already see some that I haven't read before."

"If you can find the kids, you can take whatever you want as payment," Oliver replied.

"I am happy to pay," Blaine assured him. "We can discuss it after we find those kids, though."

"Have fun storming the castle," Oliver called out.

Blaine recognized the line from one of his favorite novels, The Prince Groom_,_ and chuckled as he walked outside to catch up with Kurt.

"Did I hear him quote The Prince Groom?" Kurt asked as he stared at the towering structure in front of him, taking in the beauty that was the monastery.

Blaine chuckled again, "Yes, you sure did."

"That's my favorite book," Kurt said, looking at Blaine to see his reaction to that.

"Mine too," Blaine answered. He wanted to elaborate but now didn't seem to be the right time.

Kurt turned back to the monastery and asked, "How are we supposed to find him, the blue dragonborn?"

The monastery itself was very simple, which was the very thing that made it beautiful. There was a grand archway leading into the main sanctuary and a massive belfry that dominated the focus once inside.

"I'm not sure...Maybe we could just ask someone we come across," Blaine answered.

About that time, they saw who they were looking for walking up to the altar. He had piercing blue eyes and various shades of blue scales covering his body. His nails on his hands and feet were large but didn't look like they would hinder him in daily tasks. This dragonborn was not like the other dragonborn's either of them had ever seen before. He had a tail and digitigrade legs, looking more like an actual dragon than a humanoid. From what Blaine had read about and encountered, it was fairly rare for dragonborn's to have digitigrade legs or a tail, and unheard of for one to have both. The dragonborn was also wearing what looked like leather armor.

"I wonder why he looks different than other dragonborns..." Blaine mused quietly.

"It might be a sensitive subject," Kurt pondered. "Maybe we will let him bring it up and not mention it."

"I agree," Blaine replied. "Let's go meet him."

Blaine walked up to their companion and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. When the dragonborn turned toward him, his eyes were glazed over, similarly to Master Alin when he foretold the prophecy, and he spoke in a monotone voice. "**The next one will be in Zhallas. Look for one like me, yet different**." He shook his head, like he was trying to shake away a headache or fogginess, and noticed the two strangers standing in front of him.

"Hey dudes! I'm Finn!"

Blaine side-eyed Kurt with a look that conveyed, [_"I think we found our guy,"]_ and responded, "I'm Blaine, and this is Kurt. How long have you been in Frosa?"

"Just a couple of days. I started heading this way from the south when this thing showed up on my hand." He lifted his recently marked hand and waved it at the boys. "It almost felt like I was being pulled here for something. Hey, you have one too," Finn exclaimed when he saw Kurt's tattoo.

"Yes, I do. So does Blaine," Kurt replied quietly. "We can explain this to you in more detail later. Just know, we are all meant to travel together."

"As much as I'd prefer to leave this place right away," Blaine said, "we have a little rescue mission here in town first."

"Cool," Finn said, excited to proceed forward with these two and see where their adventures would take them. He had a good feeling about Kurt and Blaine. Since Finn had just arrived at the monastery, he didn't really have much to pack back up. He went to his room and grabbed his belongings, his weapons chief among them. For some reason, he felt like he would need them. Finn told the head clergyman that he was leaving and thanked him for his hospitality.

The trio set off toward the orphanage, explaining to Finn that they would fill him in later, to see if they could learn anything new. They didn't. The headmistress told them precisely what Oliver had, that a boy and a girl had gone missing each night for the last four nights. Since the orphanage was on the edge of town, the boys decide that instead of staying at the inn, Blaine would put up the hut. They would stay close to the orphanage that night so that if anyone left, they would hear it.

Blaine and Kurt explained what little they had learned about the orphanage and the smiles while they ate an early supper. Knowing that their sleep would likely be disrupted, the boys all went to bed early after having a quick meal at the inn. Right after midnight, they were awoken by giggling. They peered through the walls of the hut and watched as a boy and a girl walked past them as if in a trance. None of the boys could see who the children were following, though it was clear they were following someone or something.

"I don't have any kind of magic that will cloak us; but I will bond our minds, so we don't have to talk aloud," Blaine told his two companions before stepping out of the hut. "We need to be as quiet as possible so that we can follow the kids to wherever they are being led."

"No problem here," Kurt replied.

"I'll do my best," Finn nervously stated, knowing he wasn't the most agile of creatures.

The boys were able to make it to a nearby shed undetected, though from there, they didn't see anywhere they could proceed. Finn had tripped over a rock right before the children reached the shed, and the three of them had lost sight of the children just long enough for them to disappear. Kurt looked closely around and found a trap door in the floor. "Shall we go in?" he asked. Everyone shrugged. They had nothing better to try, so he threw it open, revealing an expanse of blackness below. They followed the darkness and found themselves on the inside of a tree trunk, a wooden door straight ahead, lit only by the bits of light coming from the cracks around the door. Before opening it, they listened and could hear the familiar voice of the headmistress of the orphanage. She was talking to someone named Artin about the newcomers who came asking about the missing children.

"If they keep poking around, we'll have to eliminate them," the headmistress said. "I won't have anyone discovering that what we are doing with the children is what is keeping the town under our control." Her voice was nasally and deep, rather unpleasant to listen to.

"Yes, mistress," Artin cowered.

["_Weapons ready, fellas,_"] Blaine said. ["_Let me try to talk to her first before any damage is dealt._"]

["_You got it, boss_,"] Finn replied as he pulled out his scimitar and readied his shield, in complete awe of the ability to communicate this way.

Kurt nodded in agreement as he drew his bow, and Blaine opened the door. What they saw was disturbing to them all. Several children were sitting in a circle on hard wooden chairs, their tiny bodies limp and leaning awkwardly, their eyes staring vacantly at one another. They looked like shells of what they should have been. After the door was open, Blaine immediately knew something was not right with the headmistress. His senses were screaming the alarm.

_["Something is not right with her,"]_ Blaine told the others. [_"Can you sense it?"]_

_["I can,"]_ Kurt and Finn responded at the same time.

"I should have known you would have followed this dimwitted fool here," the headmistress sneered, casting a disgruntled look toward Artin. "He's such an idiot, and I will deal with him after I take care of you three."

"Why must you respond immediately with violence?" Blaine asked, trying to buy them some time to figure out what was going on with the children. Deciding it was worth a shot, he asked, "What are you doing with all of these kids?"

At that moment, the headmistress decided that she had had enough and lunged at Blaine since he was closest to her. As she got closer, Blaine could sense that she was not what she appeared to be. Someone had used magic to make themselves look like the headmistress. ["_Knock Artin out so we can see what we are really dealing with; I think he's masking her true identity somehow, and I need him to break his concentration,_"] Blaine said to Kurt and Finn as one of the headmistress's claws slashed across his arm.

Kurt and Finn moved toward Artin as they communicated their attack plan. ["_I will sweep his legs, and you hold him down with your shield_,"] Kurt advised. ["_If we need to, knock him over the head with the butt of your sword_."] Finn nodded, and they executed their plan perfectly. The tall, burly man hit the floor with a loud thud, his head slamming against the solid wood of the wall, knocking him out.

As soon as Artin lost consciousness, the spell he was using to mask the headmistress faded, and the creature's true identity was revealed. Blaine communicated with them almost immediately. [_"It's a shadow demon! We're going to have to do this all at once and hope it works. They're hard to destroy! On the count of three, Finn, you hit it with your scimitar, and Kurt, you shoot it with an arrow. I have a spell I know it's vulnerable to. Hopefully, that will take care of it. If it doesn't, watch out for its claws. They will do more than just scratch you. One, two…_"]

Before Blaine could say three, the demon took a swipe at Finn and, luckily, missed his skin, hitting his armor.

"THREE!" Blaine said out loud. All at once, Finn swung his sword and sliced through the demon, Kurt shot an arrow through its head, and Blaine cast a spell [Sickening Radiance]. Green-tinted light spread around the beast; Blaine having centered the spell in a way that would not affect anybody but the demon. It bellowed into the night and came right at Blaine.

Already having been attacked by the demon, Blaine was able to move out of the way to avoid her lunge. The demon fell forward onto it's head. It sat up, dazed, for just a moment before turning around, angry and spitting, ready to attack. Kurt and Finn were watching as the sequence seemed to happen in slow motion in front of them.

"AGAIN," Blaine yelled. Kurt's arrow hit the demon in its chest this time, and it bellowed into the air once more. Blaine saw Finn get ready to run toward it to catch it and told him, ["_Don't get close. The spell will hurt you if you get near the demon._"]

"You got it, B," Finn replied, and he changed course, going toward Artin to make sure he stayed down. From there, he could make sure that none of the kids ventured toward the battle area.

Since the demon missed Blaine, and he had yet to dismiss the green spell, it continued to inflict damage. As the light passed through and around the demon, it screamed and then collapsed onto the ground and vanished.

Blaine dismissed the spell and turned to his two companions. He didn't really notice how badly his arm was hurt due to the adrenaline rush of the fight. "Are you both ok?" he asked, panting.

Kurt stopped himself from running over to hug Blaine, thankful that he didn't get more than one scratch. He nodded that yes, he was ok. He knew that if he talked, his voice would betray his feelings at the moment.

"I'm good, dude." Finn jerked his thumb toward Artin. "This guy is starting to come to."

Blaine walked over toward Artin as he opened his eyes. He appeared startled to see that the demon was gone, and the kids all seemed to be asleep. "Why were you helping that demon? What did you owe it?" Blaine demanded loudly.

Artin sat up, rubbing his head, and looked ashamed. He told Blaine, "Late one night, right before the town went weird with smiles, this demon approached me. Said it needed me to help it. I refused at first, but then it told me I could either help it or die. So, I helped it to save my own life. It never revealed its full plans to me. All I had to do was keep up the illusion charm so that nobody could see what it really was." By this time, Artin was in tears. He was so ashamed of himself for helping the demon and putting the kids' lives in danger. "I'm so sorry," he kept repeating over and over again.

"Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed after finally catching a glimpse of Blaine's arm and willing himself to be strong at the moment without breaking down. "You're hurt!"

"It's not as bad as it looks, Kurt," Blaine assured him, knowing how much worse it could have been. "The claw's weren't the demon's only power. They also can cause psychic damage as well. Luckily, I had read about them and knew it was coming. I was able to resist it."

Blaine could see tears forming in Kurt's eyes. ["_I'm ok, Kurt. I promise,_"] he earnestly communicated through their telepathic bond. "We need to get these kids back to the orphanage and take Artin somewhere safe. Then, I need to get this wound cleaned and bandaged."

After everybody was returned to their rightful places, the boys all went to the inn. Finn got his own room, on the house as a thank you from the owners for breaking the spell. When Kurt asked for medical supplies to clean Blaine's wounds, he heard some of the villager's talking.

"Did you feel like you **had **to do what you've always done and not deviate from it?" one man asked his friend.

"Yeah," the friend answered. "It felt like no matter how bad I wanted to change directions, I couldn't."

Blaine knew he was falling for Kurt. There was something about the elf that was pulling him in, something that made him feel more connected to him than he'd ever felt to another soul in his life. He felt like Kurt maybe had feelings for him as well.

Kurt was very gentle as he washed Blaine's wound and bandaged him up gently. He kept telling Blaine how glad he was that he hadn't been seriously injured. After Kurt pressed the bandage snuggly over the scratch, they caught eyes and leaned in toward each other.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! "Dudes, it's me!" Finn said. "Can I come in?"

* * *

A/N: I don't own "The Princess Bride" or any of its brilliance.


	6. Zhallas

"It's unlocked, Finn," Kurt called and proceeded to finish wrapping Blaine's arm. Both boys were trying to steady their breathing and emotions from their almost kiss, so neither of them looked at the dragonborn when he poked his head into the room.

"How's your arm, B?" Finn asked, completely oblivious to what he had just interrupted.

"Much better," Blaine answered. "We had better get some sleep. Before we set out for Zhallas in the morning, we need to revisit Oliver."

Finn's face wrinkled in confusion. "Who's Oliver?"

"He's a very nice bookseller we met. His shop is on the edge of town. Blaine wanted to buy a few books from him," Kurt explained, turning toward the door. He was feeling a bit better now.

"Sounds like a plan," Finn said. "See you both in the morning."

"Goodnight, Finn," Blaine said as Finn closed the door, leaving them alone once again. "I'm going to go wash up as best as I can without getting this dressing wet."

"I'll go in after you're done," Kurt replied somewhat shyly, still not completely calmed down from their almost kiss.

On his way out of the washroom, Blaine brushed up against Kurt accidentally as they crossed each other's paths. The boys looked at each other, not fully knowing what the other was thinking. Before anything could progress, however, Kurt walked the rest of the way into the washroom and shut the door without a word. Blaine took a big, calming breath and proceeded to get into one of the two beds in the room and pulled out one of his journals.

Kurt came out of the washroom a few minutes later and got into the other bed. After he snuggled in, he blew out the candle lighting his side of the room. Blaine was having a difficult time concentrating on writing down the events of the day, so he put the journal away and blew out his candle as well. He lay there in silence, thinking about if he should bring up the almost kiss or not.

Finally, he decided he needed to bring it up if he had any chance of calming his mind enough to sleep, if only to see if they were at least on the same page. "Are you still awake, Kurt?" he whispered into the darkness.

Blaine heard the blankets rustle. It sounded like Kurt was turning over to face Blaine's direction. "Yeah, too much on my mind to sleep right now."

"What are you thinking about?" Blaine asked. "_Please be about me and the moment earlier."_

"Well," Kurt began after taking a cleansing breath, "I was wondering if we should talk about what happened before Finn knocked on the door."

"I'm probably going to mess this all up," Blaine said into the darkness, butterflies in his stomach as he turned toward Kurt. "I really wanted to kiss you earlier. Since the moment we met, I've had this feeling that I just wanted to be around you."

"I wanted to kiss you, too," Kurt replied. "I'm really nervous about this progressing, Blaine. You know my history with Sebastian and how awfully that ended."

Blaine gasped, hoping that Kurt wasn't comparing him to Sebastian, especially since Blaine knew one of the biggest reasons for their breaking up was Sebastian's lust for power and magic. "_Surely, Kurt doesn't think I am like him."_

"I know you are a completely different person, and I'm not comparing you to him at all," Kurt clarified after hearing Blaine's gasp. "What I meant is that I will need to take things slowly if we are going to have this...these feelings...between us go anywhere."

"I can do that," Blaine answered with the biggest smile on his face. "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, Kurt. So if I mess up, you'll have to tell me. Please don't just assume I will know."

"I will make sure to let you know if you mess anything up," Kurt replied, smiling fondly in the direction of his new...something.

"So," Blaine began coyly, "can I kiss you now?"

Kurt didn't answer. Instead, he got up out of his bed and knelt beside Blaine's. His hands framed Blaine's face, and his thumbs caressed his soft lips. Kurt leaned down, and when their lips met for the first time, the boys felt like fireworks were exploding in their bodies. Blaine reached out his hands, caressing Kurt's face and neck as well. The kiss didn't deepen any, and it only lasted for a few seconds. It was, however, the most perfect first kiss in the history of first kisses as far as either of them were concerned.

"Yes, you may, Blaine," Kurt breathed in response to Blaine's earlier question. He leaned down to kiss Blaine one more time before returning to his bed, happy they'd finally taken that step.

"Wow," Blaine said, drifting off to sleep with the biggest smile on his face.

When they woke up in the morning, both boys continually cast shy glances at each other until finally, Blaine had had enough. He grabbed Kurt's face and kissed him again. It wasn't more than a peck, but it broke the ice. "Good morning," he said after the kiss.

"Well, yes, it sure is," Kurt replied shyly. "Um, Blaine, could I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything," Blaine said, nervous he had already messed something up.

"Would you mind terribly if we kept this between just us for now?" Kurt asked, knowing he needed to clarify after seeing the look of defeat on Blaine's face. He knew from the stories Blaine had told him about growing up that Blaine was likely taking this personally, assuming that Kurt was ashamed of being seen with him. "This is not about what you think," he explained. "I want us to get to know each other, as a couple, before we let anyone else know. I want to give us time to be...us. Does that make sense? Is that ok?"

"Thank you for explaining," Blaine said. "I think that's an excellent idea and not anything like what I was thinking." He shook his head, feeling a bit silly now for letting himself instantly think the worst of what Kurt wanted to talk to him about.

"Shall we meet up with Finn and get going?" Kurt asked. He couldn't help himself, he leaned in and gave Blaine one more short kiss.

"We should probably eat before we head out," Blaine suggested as they walked down the stairs into the main room of the inn. They spotted Finn seated at one of the tables, already shoveling food into his mouth, and decided to join him.

After the boys were sufficiently fed and had grabbed food and drink for the days to come, they headed back to Oliver's store, only to find that it had caught on fire during the night. With a sharp cry, Blaine rushed in, dropping his bag of holding and putting out the flames with his magic while trying to preserve everything he could. It broke his heart to see the books engulfed in flames. He could hear some commotion coming from outside, though he couldn't discern who it was or what they were saying. As he was tackling a rather large flame and coughing from the smoke, a steady hand grabbed him and pulled him outside. Blaine fought against the grasp, desperate to save the shop.

"Blaine," Oliver's voice broke through his concentration, "let it go."

"All of your books..." Blaine lamented, looking like he was gearing up to head back in when he started coughing yet again.

"They're just books," Oliver tried to make him understand. "They're just things. They can be replaced; you can't. Even though I've only known you for a short time, I can tell that you are way more important than all of those books combined."

Blaine didn't know how to respond to that. All he could see was someone's livelihood going up in flames, and he wasn't able to help. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more," Blaine said after he had stopped coughing.

"You did enough. More than you know. You showed me that there are people in this world who are willing to do things for others without requesting or demanding anything in return first," Oliver told him. "You showed me that there are people who are willing to put their lives on the line to help someone who they will likely never see again. You and your friends saved those kids. You broke whatever spell was put on this town. You care, Blaine. And don't you **ever** let anyone try to tell you you don't."

"Thanks, Oliver," Blaine said blushing, tears forming in his eyes, and it wasn't from the smoke.

The old bookseller smiled. "Before the fire really got going, I was able to grab a couple of things I had set aside for when you came back, and I want you to have them," he said, handing over a scroll of some sort, a book and three vials of a clear liquid. "These will help the three of you on your journey."

The scroll was actually a map of the area, and though it was a little scorched in some places, it was readable. Blaine flipped through the book while Kurt and Finn looked over his shoulder. It was a book of rare creatures, monsters, and demons not likely to be taught about in any school.

"The vials contain holy water," Oliver told them as the boys all looked at him with confusion written on their faces.

"Thank you for these," Blaine said to Oliver as both Kurt and Finn nodded in unison. He tucked the vials carefully into his belt.

"Are you sure there isn't anything we can do? I could try to go back in and put out some more of the fire," Blaine offered before Oliver cut him off.

"No, Blaine," Oliver said. "You're not going back in. It's time you guys got out of here. I sense you're on the hunt for something or someone, and you're not going to find it here."

"You're right," Kurt said. "We need to be heading out, Blaine. By the looks of the map we just got, it might take us a few days to get to Zhallas."

"Be careful, you three," Oliver said, making eye contact with each one of them. "Take care of each other and trust one another."

The boys nodded in thanks and headed north toward Zhallas.

After the boys had walked for a couple of hours, Blaine cast his first of two spells. He needed time to calm down from the adrenaline rush of the fire, and the disappointment of not being able to do more for Oliver. The first spell he cast was to bond the group telepathically, knowing that what he was going to do next would make any other form of communication unavailable. Then, he magically transformed [Polymorph] himself into a young copper dragon. He told the other two to mount his back and ride for as long as the spell lasted. This way, they could get to Zhallas quicker and find their next companion.

"Why the copper dragon, dude?" Finn asked, looking on in awe of Blaine's new form. "Don't you know there's, like, a million different types of dragons?"

Blaine eyed Finn warily, unsure if he knew that his information on dragons was completely wrong. Deciding to ignore the blunder, he simply replied, [_"My magic is limited. I can only morph into a select number of creatures, and this one's the most powerful I can be right now. Come on,"]_ he beckoned. [_"Hop on."]_

"That's so cool!" Finn said, climbing ungracefully onto Blaine's back. "I've never met anyone who can do magic. What else can you do?"

Blaine was silent, waiting for Kurt to climb aboard. [_"I went to a school of magic for several years,"]_ he replied finally, glancing back at his passengers to make sure they were settled. [_"I can do a lot of things, but I'm still learning. Magic is something you can only get better at over time if you practice."]_ He took off into the air, a bit unsteady at first until he got used to his wings.

"Can you teach me?" Finn asked eagerly, wiggling a little bit. "There are so many things I want to learn. Like, could I become my sword?" He glanced down at the weapons hanging from his hips. "It would be so cool if I could become my weapons. Then, I could, like, slice things with my head!" A huge, dopey grin grew on his face as he imagined what that would be like. "It would be like a headbutt, but so much better!"

Blaine sighed heavily; thankful the dragon spell only lasted an hour. He wasn't sure how much of Finn's babbling he could take.

The traveling took a couple of days, each morphing spell only lasting an hour and Blaine only being able to cast it once per day. Blaine put up his hut each night after Kurt hunted for their food and they had all had their fill. After the first night, Blaine decided that he would conjure two huts from then on out due to Finn's thunderous snoring. At least, that was the cover story. Kurt and Blaine also wanted to have some time just the two of them to feel out their new relationship.

They arrived at the coastal town of Zhallas mid-afternoon. The city, as far as they could tell, was deserted save for a few goblins. The air smelled dead for lack of a better word. When the goblins saw Blaine transform back into his normal form, they made a deal with the trio that the goblins wouldn't attack them if they didn't attack the goblins. The goblins knew they would be no match for anyone who could transform into a dragon, and the trio really didn't want to waste any energy fighting if they didn't have to. All parties were in agreement.

Blaine felt a magical pull at the far north end of town. Along the way, the boys came across several things in abandoned buildings, including gold, which they split, 15 pounds of diamonds, and a pair of gloves and bracers that seemed to enhance Blaine's magical abilities.

As they made their way toward the magical pull, Kurt and Finn began to feel it as well. They entered a house in the northernmost part of town and were drawn toward some stairs that led down into a series of tunnels and caverns. While they were walking, Blaine made sure their telepathic bond was reconstituted so that they could communicate without alerting anyone that they were coming. They had talked strategy while they were traveling and came to an understanding that Blaine would first try to speak with anyone the trio came across. Kurt and Finn would have their weapons ready should they quickly find themselves in combat. Blaine had prepared a list of spells that morning that would both help him and the group both defensively and offensively.

On their way down the stairs, the air changed from fresh with a tinge of salt to warm, humid, and smelling of animal dung. Once they got off of the last stair, they stepped onto the very wet ground, making their feet soggy. There was no light save for a floating, dying, blue orb. They proceeded toward the magical pull and found themselves in a small opening that led to some sort of hallway. Before they could begin a discussion about what to do, they were being attacked.

Each boy was attacked by two creatures, their claws causing considerable damage as they pinched and pierced the skin of each of the boys. Once Blaine was able to get a good look at the beings, which looked like humanoid spiders, he knew what they were and how to fight them most effectively.

["_These are ettercaps. Their bite is poisonous. And be on your toes if they shoot a web at you,_"] Blaine told his companions through the bond.

Finn pulled out both of his swords and easily thwarted the two that were attacking him, slicing their heads clean off. He then went to assist Kurt as the poor elf could only club them with his bow since they were too close to shoot. The two that were attacking Blaine were both in front of him. Knowing that he had a spell [Burning Hands] he could use that would not damage his friends, he put his thumbs together, spread his fingers, and shot thin sheets of fire toward the ettercaps, scorching their bodies though not killing them yet. The spider creatures attacking Kurt and Blaine were able to get in another attack attempt since Blaine's spell was not able to finish them off. Kurt and Blaine anticipated the attacks, and while they were able to pierce them again, the damage was not as significant as it could have been. Blaine finished off the two attacking him with more fire, finally killing them.

The boys all looked a little worse for wear. Kurt and Blaine were discussing their next move, and neither was fully aware of how amped up Finn was.

Finn's adrenaline was pumping, and he was ready to find whoever they were looking for. His worry about what could be happening to their lost companion with these creatures lurking around had ballooned significantly during the fight. While Kurt and Blaine were still trying to come up with a logical plan and strategize, Finn rushed down the hallway in search of their newest companion. "CHARGE!" he called as he barreled recklessly down the hallway.

["_FINN!_" ] Kurt shouted at him through their bond. ["_Come back!_"]

"AHHHHHH!" Finn yelled as he ran straight into a minotaur. "Dudes, I need some help!"

["_Can you tell me what it is, Finn?_"] Blaine asked as they ran down the hallway to help their companion.

["_I can't remember the name. It's like a cow and horse mixed together,_"] Finn answered desperately while he dodged the minotaur's attacks.

["_Minotaur?_"] Blaine asked.

["_Yeah! That's it,_"] Finn answered, sidestepping another swing from the minotaur's greataxe.

When Blaine and Kurt came into the hallway and could see what was going on, Kurt nocked an arrow and shot it, hitting their foe in the left arm at the same time Blaine cast a spell that filled the beasts' ears with dolorous bells [Toll the Dead]. Getting hit with Finn's scimitars and Kurt's arrow at the same time startled the minotaur, and he was unable to mentally deflect Blaine's spell. Thus, the bells had an amplifying effect on the minotaur's pain, and it was brought to its knees. The beast tried to take a swipe at Finn since he was the closest to him, but the pain from the attack was too much for him to handle and he missed his target. Finn was able to take one more swing at the now very injured minotaur and cut his head clean off of his body.

"I'm getting good at chopping heads off today," Finn said, proud of himself.

"These guys rarely travel alone," Blaine began. "We need to keep our guard-" Before he could finish his sentence, another minotaur appeared and charged straight into Blaine's torso with his horns. Blaine was now severely injured, though he was still able to fight, likely due to the adrenaline rush he was currently experiencing.

While the minotaur was scuffling with Blaine, Finn and Kurt attacked it simultaneously. Kurt was livid that this beast was hurting Blaine so gravely, and he took an extra calming breath to ensure his arrow did not miss, and struck the minotaur right between the eyes. Finn did a great deal of damage, beating the new beast with both of his scimitars repeatedly. The final blow, though, came from Blaine, attacking it with the same dolorous bells as the previous minotaur.

As the second beast fell to the ground, Kurt took a second to listen and sense if there were any more heading their way. When he ascertained that no more beings were going to come after them, he went over to Blaine to assess his wounds.

"Are you okay?" he cried, running over. "Are you hurt?" When he saw that Blaine didn't appear to be dying, he began to examine him carefully. "I can do magic," Kurt remembered all of a sudden. "It's nowhere near as powerful as what you can do by any means. I can help heal your wounds, though, if you'll let me." Kurt was pleading with his new boyfriend to not reprimand him regarding his memory lapse in telling him this important information.

"Please," Blaine ground out in a great deal of pain. He would talk with Kurt about this later.

Kurt touched each of Blaine's wounds and was able to close them and stop the immediate bleeding [Cure Wounds]. He also poured a little of the rejuvenating water into Blaine's mouth, helping to seal up a few more wounds. Blaine would definitely need to rest after they got out of this place in order to finish healing the internal damage. Kurt helped Blaine to stand, and they followed the pull of their new companion several more feet down the hall. Blaine weakly conjured his silver orbs to help them see more clearly.

The magical pull dropped away as they happened upon a figure wrapped in a spiderweb. Blaine, having read about ettercaps in the past, recognized the web as one of theirs and knew that it needed to be doused in water to dissolve it. He relayed this information to his companions, and Finn dumped some water down the length of the cocoon and nothing happened. In his pain, Blaine forgot to mention that it needed to be holy water. Finn took the vials that Oliver had given them and made a line down the web so that it could be pried open. Inside the web lay a female copper dragonborn.

Having the feeling that the new dragonborn was the key to getting to their next location, Blaine knelt painfully down and put his hand on the shoulder of the seemingly peaceful dragonborn. The girl opened her eyes to reveal that they were glazed over and said in a monotone voice, "**You will find the drunken, mohawked one near the city as named by the mirror girl.**" She closed her eyes again and stirred, appearing to be waking up from a trance.

Kurt had been looking around the room and noticed what he assumed were their new companion's clothes, weapons, and gold. He carried the items over to her and gave them to her, glad to see that she was fully awake and coherent now.

"Who the hell are you three?" the girl asked in a no-nonsense way.

"It's a long story," Blaine started. "I'm Blaine. This is Kurt and Finn." He pointed to each of his companions in turn. "I will explain it all once we get out of this place."

Their new companion ignored them until she was fully dressed. "I'm Santana," the dragonborn stated, securing her weapons to her person once more. Once she was finally dressed, the others had a chance to take in her appearance without looking like they were ogling her. She was very toned and muscular, wore intricate armor, and carried two shortswords on her hips.

The group headed back up the stairs and were thankful once they could breathe fresh air again, the dead smell having dissipated. Along the way, Blaine and Kurt relayed the prophecy and their mission to Santana, showing her their marks and pointing out hers. Kurt had been thinking about their next destination while Blaine was explaining everything to Santana. He guessed that they would find their new companion in Slosa, where Liddel, the girl that was trapped by Sitroll Mord, was from.

The group made a small camp for the remainder of the day. They knew that Blaine needed to heal, and they would need to figure out the best way to get to Slosa. Santana went to scout the shoreline for a boat, taking Finn with her to try and catch something to eat while Kurt stayed with Blaine and attempted to magically heal his internal wounds.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you before," Kurt explained again. "I honestly can't think of why I didn't mention it. Sometimes, I forget I can do magic since it isn't something I do all the time. One day, while I was hunting, I felt a shift within me. All I can figure is that I somehow tapped into the nature around me, and it granted me some magic. I've found that I can communicate with some animals, and I can befriend them easier than I can other people. I think, maybe, when I was aware that Sebastian was seeking out people to teach him magic, I repressed it. He never knew I could do anything other than hunt really well."

"I'm not mad, Kurt," Blaine said. "Honestly, I'm thankful that you have other ways to protect yourself. You're so important to me, and I'd hate for anything bad to ever happen to you. Knowing you have some magic eases my mind, especially if your bow ever breaks, and you don't have any other way to defend yourself. Is your magic mostly defensive or offensive?"

"There are some offensive spells that I can do, though there aren't a lot I have discovered yet. Most of them are defensive," Kurt replied. "I'm still tapping into it, and it's taken me a while to learn what I can and cannot do. I feel like a lot of precious time learning was lost while I had to repress it, and now that I can access it again, I will have to start practicing."

"Maybe that's something I can help you with, if you'd like," Blaine offered.

"I'd like that a lot actually," Kurt answered.

Finn and Santana came back to the camp a couple of hours later with news of an abandoned ship. Blaine had started a fire, and Kurt was cooking some meat that he had stored in his pack from a kill the night before. They added in what Finn and Santana had found as well, making quite the feast.

The group enjoyed learning a little bit about each other while they ate and discussed the best way to get to Slosa. They agreed that sailing would be the least taxing and would give them all a chance to heal from their wounds.

Blaine conjured two huts. Santana agreed that she would stay with Finn. She claimed she was uncomfortable sleeping with elves, though Blaine wondered if she could tell that he wanted some time alone with Kurt. Blaine felt that she was a very perceptive dragonborn, able to see more than she would ever let on.

Kurt and Blaine talked about the happenings of the day and how scared Kurt had been when he saw Blaine get gored by the minotaur.

"I'm fine, Kurt," Blaine assured him. "I don't want you to worry about me when we're fighting. You'll get hurt trying to split your focus, and I'll be worried that you're worrying about me." He rubbed a hand gently up and down Kurt's arm.

"I know," Kurt agreed. "I'll try to concentrate." With a yawn, he patted his mat. "We should get some sleep. We have a long day of traveling ahead of us tomorrow."

"We should," Blaine said, settling down on his own mat which was not far from Kurt's. "Good night."

"Good night, Blaine," Kurt whispered into the dark.

Right before he fell asleep, Blaine sent his mother a message [Sending], [**I'm doing well, Momma and Papa. I've made some new friends, and we set sail in the morning for Slosa. Talk soon and love you!**]

Blaine heard back before fully succumbing to sleep, [**Stay safe, my darling. Your Papa, grandfather, and I love you, too.**]

The next day, the group arose early and set sail toward Slosa.


	7. Slosa

Tags: Capture

A/N: Translations at the end

* * *

The group was lucky and had smooth sailing during their journey to Slosa. They traveled for several days, which, thankfully, allowed everyone to heal fully. Kurt practiced his magic and began to really get the hang of it with Blaine's help, especially since Blaine was able to teach him a few of the spells he knew. They all learned about each other's backgrounds during the journey, as well. Finn, who was more than happy to talk about himself, was born and bred to fight for the purists, and, when he learned that this was his purpose, he left his home and family. Santana took a little bit longer to open up about herself. She said that she was looking for the monsters that killed her mother in her sleep one night and suspected that they were connected to the purists due to the mission the group was currently on. It was common knowledge that most dragonborn's were elitist, so when Santana's mother stood up for someone of a different race, Santana believed that she was killed in order to send a message to any other sympathizers.

Several days after they left Zhallas, they finally spotted Slosa. They could make out the outlines of the city as it rose through the mist, and the details became clearer as they approached the docks. None of them were prepared for the sheer size of the island city, though. Santana docked the ship, and they were met by a female gnome as they disembarked. She had extremely long, wavy gray hair, but the sides of her head were shaved short. Her brown skin was smooth, and she had a soft, attractive face. She was about three feet and four inches tall with a beefy build.

"Howdy," the woman said. "Will you be staying long?"

"We're not quite sure how long we are staying at the moment," Blaine answered. "We have business with the king and queen as well as some personal business."

"It will cost you 10 gold per day to leave your ship here," the woman said, matter-of-factly.

"That won't be a problem…I'm sorry. Where are my manners? My name is Blaine, and these are my travel companions," he said, pointing to the group behind him.

"I'm Grenceli," the woman said. "I'm one of the dockmasters, so if you want to leave your ship here, I can take your gold," she explained in a no-nonsense way.

Blaine pulled out 70 gold and handed it over to Grenceli. "This will pay us up for seven days. I'm not sure we will be here that long, but this way we won't have to come all the way back down here if our business takes us longer than we think it will."

"Thanks," Grenceli said, pocketing the money and taking note of the ship and the gold she had received in a notebook she kept in her pocket. "Enjoy Slosa," she said and walked away without saying anything else.

Now that the group had the dock fees paid, they could really take in the city in front of them. They could see hundreds of sturdy looking homes that looked as though they could withstand the harshest of storms. The houses were all tightly packed together and went up the mountainous island for at least 8 levels. Stairs led all over the city, connecting the multi-level complexes together. At the top of the town, they spotted the structure they were looking for: the castle. It was golden and had pillars and spires prominently on display, distinguishing it from everything else on the island.

As they made their way to the castle, they could smell the salty sea air, baked goods, and the musty smell of the animals that assisted the gnomes daily. They could hear the dockworkers in the distance, the tradesmen, women, and merchants selling their goods to locals and visitors alike, and children playing and laughing. The group didn't get the sense that this city was under any kind of spell like Frosa had been. It seemed like a generally happy place to live and visit.

"Dudes! This place would be so freaking cool to live in," Finn stated as they went up yet another flight of stairs.

"It seems lovely so far," Blaine commented. "I don't think I could live this close to so many people myself."

"The people don't bother me that much," Finn replied.

"Then, you should do it, Finn," Kurt answered. "If this is where your heart is pulling you, you should follow it." As Kurt was saying this, he was looking at Blaine, silently communicating with him the double meaning of his words. It did not go unnoticed by Santana. She had had her suspicions about the boys from the start, though they didn't seem ready to share their feelings with anyone but themselves. She respected that.

Once they got close to the castle, they decided to call it a night and get some rooms at The Colossal Meerkat Inn. Upon seeing the name, Blaine and Kurt looked at each other and laughed, knowing it reminded the other of Sebastian. They got two rooms, Blaine and Kurt in one and Finn and Santana in the other. Santana had been offered her own room, but said she didn't mind sharing with Finn as long as the windows opened.

After getting to their room, the night started just like any other. Both boys got ready for bed, doing their separate nighttime routines. But, when it came time to actually get into bed, they found themselves frantically kissing in the middle of the room. It was almost like Blaine nearly dying in the fight with the minotaur had finally caught up with them, and they needed to just be close to each other.

It started off as just kissing, chaste, but passionate. Blaine wasn't a stranger to kissing. While he was in college, he had found a couple of boys that he thought he might be able to really fall for. As it turned out, they only wanted sex, and Blaine knew that he wasn't that kind of guy. Kissing Kurt wasn't like anything he had experienced before, though. This was so much more, and he knew it was because he felt for Kurt and Kurt felt something back for him.

Blaine led Kurt to the bed so that they could lay down next to each other and continue their kissing, which Kurt had no problem with. The boys were in a tight embrace and continued to hold each other close and kiss. Nothing more than that happened that night, and they fell asleep happy and content in each other's arms.

Everyone met downstairs to have breakfast the next morning before trekking the rest of the way to the castle. When they reached the palace, Blaine let the guards know that they would like to speak to the King and Queen as they had knowledge of their missing daughter. The group was quickly led to the throne room where they were announced to King Piedmont and Queen Cellma.

King Piedmont was sitting on a very decorative throne and had long, straight brown hair and golden eyes. His skin was a smooth pink with a muscular build and was covered in ornate green robes. He had a square, common-looking face with a short, chinstrap beard. Queen Cellma sat to his left on her own decorative throne and wore complementary silver robes. She had extremely long, braided, auburn hair and gray eyes. Her skin was golden and smooth like her husbands with a petite build and an oval face.

"We are told that you have information regarding our daughter," King Piedmont thundered through the wide space.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Blaine answered bowing toward the royals. "We found a mirror that allows us to see and talk to your daughter, though none of us, her included, can figure out exactly where she is."

"Can we see her?" Queen Cellma asked, excited to see her daughter once again.

"Of course," Blaine said and pulled out the mirror. He walked up to the royals and set the mirror down on the surface between them so that he could call to Liddel. Blaine showed them how to activate the mirror and informed them that they could not hold it while they were talking to her.

Blaine and the rest of his group stayed quiet while the royals talked. King Piedmont asked after a while, "May we keep the mirror? Our historians and geographers know a great deal about the land surrounding our fair kingdom. They may be able to find her." He eyed Blaine with a look that was almost pleading.

"Of course," Blaine agreed, secretly thanking the gods above that the task was out of his hands. He knew that their own journey would be taxing enough without the added responsibility of finding the princess.

"What can we do to thank you for helping us find our daughter?" Queen Cellma asked, thankful that they could at least talk to her again.

"Well," Blaine began, "we are on a mission to find any others with this mark." He showed the royals his hands. "We were told that our next companion would be around here. Any guidance you could give us would be helpful."

"I will have one of the guards lead you to Magpies. He is a sorcerer that will imbue any weapons you have with magic. All expenses will be paid by us as thanks. Then, the guard will lead you to a yuan-ti named Dozeh. She is who we go to when we need to find a specific person or group of people. She can be a little difficult. Just know, she is all bark with no bite. Since we are on an island, as additional thanks, we will supply each one of you with an apparatus that will allow you to breathe underwater should the situation ever arise," King Piedmont explained to the group.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," they all said in unison, bowed, and stowed the breathers in their packs for now.

One of the guards in the room led the group to Magpies' shop. It was not far off, and they arrived mere minutes later. When they entered, they saw a catlike humanoid with fluffy black fur, golden eyes that squinted every so often, and a round face. He was a few inches taller than Blaine and very lean. At seeing the group with the guard, Magpies stopped what he was doing and addressed them. "How may I help you?" he purred.

"The King and Queen would like you to imbue each of their weapons with their power of choice, and their Majesty's will take care of the cost," the guard reported.

"Very well," Magpies responded. He told the group the types of magical damage he could add to their weapons and let each one choose. Blaine chose thunder, Kurt and Finn chose lightning, and Santana chose acid. They all chatted with the guard and Magpies while he imbued their weapons. Each thanked him profusely and then followed the guard to meet Dozeh. As they got closer to the water, they noticed a lone figure near the shore. She had scaled, golden skin, shoulder-length golden hair, and bright blue eyes. She looked to be of average size with an oval face and flat, snake-like nose.

"Can I help you?" she asked, eyeing them suspiciously as the guard retreated back to the castle having fulfilled his duty.

"We are looking for someone, and the King thought that maybe you would be able to help us," Blaine answered.

"Perhapssssss," Dozeh answered. "Who are you, and who are you looking for?" Her long, forked tongue flicked out of her mouth as she spoke.

"I am Blaine, and this is Kurt, Finn, and Santana," Blaine explained. "We are looking for a drunken someone with a mohawk and unique tattoo."

Just at that moment, Dozeh noticed Finn's tattoo. "You'll never reach him!" she screeched, flying into hysterics. "They know what you're up to and are not going to allow you to collect your little band of loserssssss."

All at the same time Kurt drew his bow, Finn and Santana readied their swords, and Blaine began talking. "We will find our companion," he said sharply, "even if you choose not to help us. If you do help us, however, you'll keep your life." The threat felt funny coming out of his mouth, almost foreign, and he added. "My friends appear to be looking for a fight."

Valuing her own life above anyone else's, she hissed, "The dwarfssss with the merfolk." She watched as the faces of the group lit up. This was her favorite part, building them up before tearing them down. She knew they would die before getting to their companion as the merfolk did not take kindly to trespassers who hadn't signaled prior to arriving in their territory. Little did she know, Blaine knew this information from studying various beings and cultures throughout his childhood and college years. Since he didn't know who he was talking to, he couldn't appropriately send a message ahead of time and knew they would just have to take their chances.

The group eventually lowered their weapons and moved toward the shoreline. Blaine cast a spell on each of them that would allow them all to breathe underwater for 24 hours [Water Breathing] and forged their telepathic bond while Kurt prepared to turn into an animal that could get them to their destination.

Blaine informed the group through the bond that they would likely be held captive for a time until they could speak with the mer-king due to not being able to signal ahead of time. If needed, they could fight their way out, but he told them that he didn't feel that Fate would put them in a situation to fail this soon in their journey. While it wasn't a given, the group had a feeling that Blaine was right and even if they were held captive, they would leave the ocean with their next companion and mostly, if not all of the way, unscathed.

Blaine knew they could have used the breathing apparatuses that they were gifted; he just felt that this was safer for the time being. Since Santana had spent a great deal of time at sea, she knew approximately where the mermaid colony was located and drew out a map in the sand for Kurt who had been learning that he could do some pretty amazing magic with Blaine's recent tutelage.

When everything was ready to go, Kurt swam out into the ocean and Blaine used his magic [Polymorph] to transform him into a giant octopus. He told the group that they could come out and grab onto him. They all thanked Blaine for giving them the ability to breathe underwater as they held on tightly to Kurt, and he began swimming in the direction Santana had shown him.

Kurt could see them coming, but before he could say anything more than, [_"Guys, I think…"]_ the group was surrounded by merpeople. Blaine knew from reading about them what they looked like, but nothing could have prepared him for meeting them in real life. They had blue-green skin, sapphire eyes, and blue-green scales that merged into a large fin on their lower bodies. Blaine communicated to them to the best of his ability that they were looking for somebody and that they meant the merfolk no harm. None of the merpeople responded, and Blaine wasn't sure if they couldn't or if they were refusing. From what he knew, they should have been able to understand him, so he was greatly confused. Kurt followed the lead of one merman, and the others flanked him on all sides.

When the group finally stopped, they were in a small, sheltered cavern. The water flowed outside the walls, but inside, the cavern was dry and cozy. Kurt reluctantly transformed back into an elf at Blaine's insistence.

One of the mermen leaned through the opening they had come through and told Blaine and his companions to wait where they were. Blaine tried to talk to the merman, but the others with him raised their tridents toward him in warning. The group decided that instead of fighting, it might be better to see how this played out. They could hear a couple of their escorts talking about how thankful they were that Dozeh sent a message to the King, letting him know that the ones who killed Marius were on their way to turn themselves in.

"That witch!" Santana bit out at hearing the news. "She better hope she's not around when we get back to the surface or else I'm gonna pull the razors out of my hair and give her some new artwork on her body."

"Santana," Blaine said, "violence isn't the answer in this case. Dozeh will get what's coming to her; the universe always takes care of wrong-doers one way or another." He directed his attention back to the group. "Anyone know someone called Marius?" None of them answered. "We need to meet with the King to sort this all out. The guards won't be able to do anything here."

Blaine could see that there was a guard nearby, and he went to talk to him. "Excuse me. Will there be a chance for us to talk to his Majesty?"

"The king typically takes a day to deliberate when prisoners are brought in before they are allowed to have an audience with him and plead their case," the guard grunted. He spoke with such a gruff tone that Blaine was afraid to ask any more questions.

Coming back toward his companions, Blaine looked around the cavern they were in and noticed several fascinating things. There was a bridge from one piece of land to the next, as well as an old ship in the water that was sort of leaning onto another piece of land connected by a narrow bridge. Wondering if there was anything lurking in the depths, Blaine tossed a rock out to see if anything happened. Several sharks emerged from the darkness, gnashing their teeth.

"Good to know," Finn said, staring wide-eyed at the water.

The group walked across the bridge to the larger piece of land. Blaine noted that there was plenty of room to set up two huts that evening and found some wood to make a small fire. Kurt got out some of the meat he had preserved and put some on a stick for each of the companions to cook over the open flame. Finn took out some vegetables he had brought with him, and Santana provided some fruits. While the group ate, they talked more about the weapons they had imbued and the reasons why they chose the particular damage they did. Everyone tried to ignore their current situation. There was nothing they could do to change it until they met with the King the next day.

After they were finished eating, Santana and Finn decided to go and explore the ship while Kurt and Blaine stayed near the fire. Blaine worked with Kurt to practice more of his magic in hopes that it would begin to come more naturally to him. When Santana and Finn returned, they reported that most of the ship had already been ransacked, though they were able to find some gold and one emerald. The four decided that their meeting with the King would likely take place the following day. They spoke briefly about the mission, all trying to decipher precisely what the prophecy could mean. "**The day the wolves howl together will be the beginning of the age of acceptance, ushered in by the binder and his companions with the silver-scaled mark.**"

"Obviously, you're the binder, Hobbit," Santana stated. "You're the one with both marks."

"I agree," Kurt said. "How is it going to work, though? And how will we know when we have all of the people we're supposed to find? Are we supposed to go and try to find the wolves? How many wolves are we supposed to find? One for each of us? It seems like there are at least two by what the prophecy says."

"Slow down, Porcelain," Santana said.

"Yeah, dude," Finn replied. "That's too many questions for me to follow all at once."

"Okay. First things first," Blaine said as he scooted closer to Kurt, sensing his nerves about the whole thing. "I am going to guess that there is more than one wolf, and somehow, we will know that they are the wolves we are looking for. How this will happen, I have absolutely no clue. As for how many of us there are supposed to be, I guess we will find that out when we don't get a message after rescuing a companion. I am guessing that the Fates will lead us where we are supposed to go and put things in our path that we are meant to fight."

"I hate leaving things up to Fate," Santana complained. "But I think you're right. I've heard of how other prophecies have played out, and they always have one common factor. They just work out, no matter what. If the group was put into a situation, they just went with it, knowing, in the end, there would be something to learn from it and then move on to whatever happened next. That doesn't mean that one of us can't totally fuck up and botch the whole thing. It just means that as long as we're on the right path, making choices that further our mission, we'll be good to go."

"Well, then I guess that means that we need to meet with the King tomorrow and see where that goes," Blaine concluded. "I'm going to get started on the huts. I'm tired."

"You don't need to make one for me, dude," Finn explained. "It's not too bad here, and I kinda like the smell of the ocean."

"Me either," Santana said. "I'm used to sleeping surrounded by the smell of the sea, and I'm not sure where we're going next or when I will get to smell it again."

"Kurt," Blaine began, "do you want the hut?"

"I do," Kurt replied without missing a beat. "Finn's snoring keeps me awake all night without it." He sincerely hoped that the others forgot that sounds could come in the huts, just not out, so if Finn was close, he'd still be able to hear the snores.

Blaine grinned and started to conjure the hut for himself and Kurt. He was thinking about everything that could happen that night.

Blaine finished up the hut then sent his mother a message: [**You would not believe this journey the Fates have me on. I'm with the merfolk. Don't worry. I'm fine and love you both! Talk soon.**]

Almost instantly, he got a message back from her: [**My darling, I miss you so much! I'm glad you're safe and are getting to see new lands. Keep yourself safe! Papa loves you too!**] With unshed tears in his eyes, he told Kurt that the hut was ready, and he went inside.

When Kurt entered, he saw Blaine standing with his back to the door, his head down. Kurt went up behind him and put his arms around Blaine's waist, hooking his chin over Blaine's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it, or shall I just hold you?"

"I just heard from my mom, and I guess I didn't realize until I heard her voice how much I really miss her," Blaine said softly, trying not to let Kurt know how close he was to crying.

"Maybe, if you're able to, you could send her messages more often?" Kurt suggested. "I'm sure she and your dad would love to hear from you as often as they can."

"I'll try," Blaine said. "I would hate to get them used to hearing from me and then one night not be able to talk with them, though. I know they worry about me too much already; I don't want to add to that."

"I get that," Kurt said. "If you ever want to talk about them, I'm here, and I will listen."

"Thank you," Blaine said. "I will keep that in mind. For now, I'd like to talk about us if that's alright with you."

"I'd like that very much," Kurt replied. He had been doing a lot of thinking about their relationship and how he wanted it to proceed. Since Kurt had been in a relationship before and Blaine hadn't, he knew that he would likely have to take the reins in the more physical aspect of them moving forward. He had been trying to think about the best way to do that. Would Blaine prefer Kurt to tell him or show him what to do next?

While Kurt thought through all of this, Blaine made a small fire inside the hut. They didn't need it for warmth, but he believed the ambiance would be nice. He also laid out his bedding for them to sit on and leaned up against the inside of the hut. Kurt came to sit beside him and grabbed Blaine's hand, feeling like he would need the connection to him at the moment. He wasn't nervous about what they were going to discuss, but he was worried about how to discuss it. Kurt didn't want to scare Blaine off by saying too much.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, noticing his quietness and how he seemed to be struggling internally with something. "What's going through that beautiful head of yours?"

"I don't want to mess this up," Kurt confessed without hesitation, never looking at Blaine but staring at their intertwined hands instead. "If I'm completely honest, and I always want to be honest with you, I'm afraid of saying too much and scaring you away. I have an idea of where this conversation could go. You know that I've been in relationships before, and I guess I want to know what you're comfortable with before I accidentally suggest taking anything too far." After getting all of this out, he took a deep breath, feeling like he had just run away from a demon and was finally to safety.

Blaine put two fingers under Kurt's chin and raised it gently until their eyes met. "I always want you to be honest with me, and, in return, I will be honest with you. I want everything with you, Kurt. Just as the Fates have put us on this journey where I can feel in my soul that we are on the right path; I also feel in my soul that you are who I'm meant to find to complete me. Your soul feels like it was made to fit perfectly with mine. So, there is nothing you could say or do that will scare me. I may not be nearly as experienced as you are in the practical sense, but I do know a little from a book I read. I know what's coming. So, please, don't be scared to talk to me. I want you to show me everything!" At seeing the unshed tears in Kurt's eyes, he leaned in and captured his lips in a passionate kiss.

Kurt had never had anybody talk to him and treat him the way Blaine did. Sebastian had always just taken what he wanted. He had never wanted to talk about anything. Kurt knew he shouldn't compare Blaine to Sebastian; it was hard to do sometimes. He was used to having things done one way, and then Blaine came along and turned everything he knew upside-down in the best ways.

After they had kissed for a few moments, Kurt broke away, partially to breathe but more so to get their discussion back on track. He knew he would feel better if they had some kind of a plan as to how things would proceed and what they were both comfortable with. "So, I was thinking this could happen a few different ways," Kurt stated hesitantly.

Blaine gave him one more peck on the lips and then said, "Okay. What ways are those?"

"Well," Kurt started, "I could talk you through things, I could show you some things, or we could just see where things lead us and go from there."

So many thoughts were running through Blaine's mind at the idea of Kurt talking him through the next phase of their relationship that his breath was hitching at the images he was getting when he thought of Kurt actually showing him. "Show me, please," Blaine panted. "Show me anything and everything you want."

"Will either of them be able to get in here?" Kurt asked, gesturing toward the door, glad that he had enough self-control left to ask. He most certainly did not want Finn barging in on them to tell them about a cool rock he found or ask a question about if Blaine could turn into a dung beetle and sneak around once they got started with whatever this was leading toward.

"I will make sure they can't," Blaine said. "Give me a moment." He walked to the entrance, poked his head out, and caught sight of Santana. He said, [_Kurt and I would like to not be disturbed. I know you know. Please, will you help ensure we aren't bothered unless it's an emergency?_]

Santana had a smirk on her face and replied, [_Wanky! Owe me one, and I will make sure you and the fair elf aren't disturbed._]

Blaine quickly answered back, [_Deal!_] and ducked back into the hut, making it so nobody else but the two of them and Santana could enter.

"The only reason anyone will come in is if it's an absolute emergency," Blaine explained to Kurt as he laid down next to him on the bedding. He thought it best to not tell him that Santana was the one he had had to make a deal with to ensure this. "_Tomorrow…I will tell him tomorrow."_

With a smile, Kurt turned toward him. "Kar va len haran neheless, thiramen?" Kurt asked in his native elven language.

* * *

A/N: Translations

Elvish to Common

Kar va len haran neheless, thiramen? = Do you ever touch yourself, love/soulmate?


	8. Willow's Island

Tags: Implied Masturbation; Nipple Licking; Handjobs; Rimming; Anal Fingering; Soulmates

A/N: Translations at the end

* * *

"Once, when I was at Deswore. I heard some of the other guys talking about it in the common area," Blaine admitted with a blush on his cheeks.

"Why only once?" Kurt asked, intrigued.

"I found that I didn't have anything to motivate me. Though there were times when I was growing up and even while I was at the university that I would wake up, and my drawers would be sticky," Blaine said, looking anywhere but into Kurt's blue eyes. He felt silly because he knew Kurt wouldn't judge him, and he had just promised to tell him the truth. Always.

"Blaine," Kurt coaxed, in hopes that he would look at him again. When Blaine made eye contact, Kurt continued, "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm actually quite glad that I get to experience this with you for the first time." Then, Kurt captured Blaine's lips again and began to move under him. They parted, and Blaine gave Kurt a questioning glance, unsure of how to proceed. "Just do whatever feels good to you," Kurt explained and pulled him back down to kiss him.

As Blaine adjusted himself to be more centered over Kurt, he unintentionally rolled his hips against Kurt's and was able to feel his hardness next to his own. "Oh, my gods!" Blaine yelled, thankful that nobody outside the magical hut would be able to hear him. "That feels amazing! Does it feel this good for you, too?"

"Yesssss!" Kurt replied, giggling. "When you're ready for it, we will be doing this without clothes. When our skin touches, it will feel even better than this."

Blaine frantically nodded his head. "Let's do that! I want to do that so badly, my love!" The term of endearment slipped out on its own, and Blaine hesitated, thankful that Kurt didn't seem to react negatively.

Kurt could tell that Blaine was overwhelmed, though not in a bad way. He remembered how it felt to have so many new and confusing hormones raging through his body all at once. Taking pity on his soulmate, Kurt said, "Sal uann va desha thar, thiramen." He felt Blaine relax a bit as he returned the name. Kurt began to slow things down for them, easing them gently down the path. He kissed slowly down Blaine's jaw and neck. When Kurt reached the spot where Blaine's neck met his shoulder, he licked and sucked some, eliciting the most beautiful moan out of Blaine. As he continued his ministrations, he undid the fastenings of Blaine's clothes and opened his shirt.

"Veluthe," Kurt whispered when he got the shirt opened and slid it off of Blaine's body. He continued his way down, trying to entice him into making that deep moan again. Kurt was determined to learn all of the places on Blaine that would create that reaction. He also knew he needed to be careful not to stimulate him too much since this was Blaine's first time being touched by someone else.

Kurt paid special attention to Blaine's nipples and, to his delight, found they were very sensitive. "I love having my nipples played with, thiramen," Kurt huskily said as he moved from the right one to the left. "I love having them licked, sucked, and even lightly bitten. They are one of my most sensitive parts."

"Kurrrrrt," Blaine moaned again. He felt something happening inside his body that he didn't quite understand, and he was too far gone to figure it out. Between what Kurt was doing to his body and the things he was saying, he felt like he was going to explode from the inside out.

Kurt could tell what was happening and doubled his efforts on Blaine's left nipple, watching Blaine's face. He wanted to see him fall apart.

"FUUUUUCK!" Blaine yelled as he had his first conscious orgasm ever.

After seeing how beautifully Blaine fell apart under him, Kurt needed his own release. He started pressing his own hardness up against Blaine's thigh. He wasn't frantically chasing his orgasm, but he wasn't going at a leisurely pace either. When Blaine came back to reality, he realized what Kurt was doing and immediately wanted to help.

"What can I do to help you?" Blaine asked, staring into Kurt's eyes. He wanted Kurt to understand that he was serious, that he wasn't scared or intimidated by anything that Kurt would ask him to do.

"Give me your hand," Kurt commanded. Blaine held out his hand, and Kurt put it on his very hard cock, still in his knickers. He showed Blaine what to do and directed him on how hard and fast to move. "Keep doing that and kiss me, thiramen," Kurt panted, knowing that it wouldn't take much more for him to reach his climax.

Blaine lunged at Kurt's mouth and kissed him like his life depended on it, continuing the up and down motion with his hand. Kurt began to moan into Blaine's mouth, and Blaine could tell that Kurt was getting close. He redoubled his efforts both with his kisses and his hand, wanting so badly to make Kurt feel as good as he had felt. Moments later, Kurt tensed up. Then, Blaine felt him release all of the tension in his body. Kurt hadn't told him to stop moving his hand, so he didn't; that is, until his movements became too sensitive for Kurt, and he grabbed Blaine's hand and stopped him.

After their breathing evened back out, they realized how dirty they felt and laughed as they looked at each other. "Want me to take care of cleaning that up for you, my love?" Blaine asked as he magically cleaned himself.

"I'd be grateful if you would," Kurt answered, so Blaine cleaned him up as well.

"Thank you, Kurt," Blaine said, settling down on the mat. "That was amazing, and I'm honestly not sure I've ever felt as relaxed as I do right now, laying in your arms."

"There's no need to thank me, Blaine," Kurt answered as he yawned. "I'm glad you were okay with me taking the reins." He yawned again, wider. "Sleep time?" he asked with a small smile.

"Definitely," Blaine said. He magically snuffed out the fire and cuddled next to Kurt. "Sal aestar va, Kurt," Blaine whispered as he was falling asleep.

"Sal aestar va, eso, Blaine," Kurt replied as he drifted off.

Blaine awoke in the morning to an empty hut. He knew that Kurt didn't need as much sleep as he did, but he still hoped that Kurt would still be there when he woke up. Blaine picked up his belongings and headed out of the hut just moments before it dissipated. Santana and Finn had not yet risen, so he went in search of Kurt and found him near the cave entrance.

"Kurt?" Blaine called softly to him once he was close enough not to startle him. "I was hoping that you'd still be there when I woke up this morning." He tried not to let the hurt show in his voice.

"I couldn't remember how long the hut lasted, and I didn't want to chance the others seeing us cuddled together," Kurt answered, hanging his head. He knew that he just wasn't ready for the other two to know about them yet, but he felt a little guilty. What he had been through with Sebastian was tainting his ability to move forward.

"I understand," Blaine said, defeated somewhat. He was ready to shout from the rooftops that Kurt was his soulmate, but he understood that Kurt wasn't comfortable. He wasn't fully sure if Kurt felt the pull of the soulmate bond yet, but he was ceratin that was what he was feeling. "Whenever you're ready to let others know about us, we will do that. Though I have a feeling that Santana already knows. She's perceptive like that."

"She's been giving me looks every once in a while, that make me think she does, too," Kurt said, finally turning around to look at Blaine. "I'm sorry I'm so weak."

Blaine rushed forward and cupped Kurt's cheek in his hand. "You're anything but weak, my love. I understand why you want to keep this between us for now. I really do. Whenever you're ready, we will tell them, and if you never are, it won't make me love you any less," Blaine said and gently kissed Kurt on the lips.

With tears in his eyes, marveling at the compassion and understanding of his beautiful soulmate, Kurt kissed him back, thanking him for his understanding and patience. He had been feeling the soulmate pull as well, though he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to fully acknowledge it having been so hurt before, and knowing that there would be no recovering if he were hurt like that by Blaine. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"You were just you," Blaine answered softly.

Kurt took several deep breaths to get his emotions back under control. Afterward, Blaine led him over to the fire to cook some breakfast which roused the two sleeping dragonborns. Just after they finished eating, the entrance to the cave opened, and the group was summoned by a merman to follow him to meet King Merrick.

When they entered what Blaine guessed was a throne room of sorts, they saw a merman sitting atop a gold and pearl throne. What surprised Blaine was the merman's apparent age. He didn't look like he could have been more than 20 years old. He had short, brown hair that was slicked back like he had just gotten out of the bath and combed it with his fingers. A golden trident rested in his left hand, and a simple circlet crown sat atop his head.

"King Merrick, I presume?" Blaine asked. At the merman's nod, Blaine continued, "Thank you for meeting with us. My name is Blaine, and these are my travel companions, Kurt, Finn, and Santana. We were told that another one of our companions, who bears this same marking, might be with your people." He showed the king his hands.

King Merrick held up his hand to stop Blaine from explaining more. "I do have a prisoner with the marking you speak of. A dwarf with quite the mouth on him, especially after he's been hitting the bottle a little too hard," the King explained. "As I'm told, he seduced my sister and then didn't want to see her again. He is awaiting his sentencing for disrespect to the royal family. I was also informed that one of you killed my cousin, Marius."

Blaine closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sent a silent prayer to the gods. "Your Majesty," he said, bowing at the title, "none of us know anyone by the name of Marius. We are guessing that the informant who relayed this information to you is with the purist cult. Despite orders from King Piedmont of Slosa, Dozeh refused to help us, especially after seeing our markings. News has spread quickly through the purist ranks about who we are, and we have heard they have been ordered to stop us at any cost. As for the companion in your custody, I haven't met him. I don't know anything about him. What I do know, though, is that we cannot complete our mission without him. And, for the sake of anyone who is a half-breed of any sort, we need to complete the mission we have been tasked with." He bowed again, hoping he hadn't been too direct with the king. The future of their mission depended on his mercy.

The king raised an eyebrow at Blaine, wondering if the prophecy he had heard about was real and if these were the ones set forth to make it come to light. "Bring the dwarf, Ervin," he said to one of the guards overseeing the meeting. Ervin bowed and left for the holding cells. The room was silent as the king sized up the group in front of him, wondering if they really had the power to bring the races together. Blaine and his companions were looking for exits, wondering if they could fight their way out of the colony if they needed to.

A few minutes later, Ervin came back into the throne room, escorting a disgruntled looking dwarf. He had light brown skin, and his black hair was cut into a mohawk. His beard was thick and styled into braids, beads hanging off the end of each. He had a scar that ran from his left eyebrow down to his cheek. "What the hell, man? I was sleeping," the dwarf grumbled as he took in his new surroundings, noting that the king still looked pissed at him and a group of newcomers were looking at him with curious eyes.

"Young master dwarf," the king began, "these comrades say that you are part of their group. Is this true?"

"I've never seen them before in my life, but if it gets me out of here...Sure. I'm part of their group," the dwarf said.

"May I?" Blaine asked the king.

"Be my guest," King Merrick answered with a sweep of his hand, curious to see how this interaction would play out. No matter what, he was going to be rid of the dwarf today.

"What is your name?" Blaine asked.

"Puck," the dwarf answered. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Blaine," he explained. "This is Kurt, Finn, and Santana. We are all traveling together on the same mission. Tell me, could I see your left hand?"

"What the fuck for?" Puck asked, suspicious as to why these people would want to specifically see his left hand. He didn't want to draw attention to the marks that had shown up out of the blue one day. He didn't want anyone thinking he was diseased.

"Do it," King Merrick commanded, "or the guards will help you to do it."

Reluctantly, Puck lifted up his left hand, and there, for everyone to see, were the same scales that were on each of the newcomer's hands.

[_King Merrick, this is Blaine speaking to you through my magic. I need to touch him to see where the next companion is, and I don't want your guards to harm or deter us. Is that ok?_]

"Ssiith phe sihv vi hi ehilhili," King Merrick announced, knowing that not all of his guards spoke Common, the language that most races spoke.

Blaine approached Puck cautiously, unsure of how he would react. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I just want to compare your mark to my own," he explained.

Puck nodded in agreement, trusting the young half-elf for some reason. When Blaine touched Puck's hand, Puck's eyes glazed over, just like the others had, and he said, "**One black and one white await in Emelle. Trials will tell if you reach them or not.**"

"You are those who will bring the world peace," King Merrick stated in awe. His race, too, was considered half-breeds. He hated seeing his kin killed because of who they were. "You may take Puck with you. No fines will be paid, and no further detainment will be necessary. As a parting gift and thank you for what your group will hopefully do for our lives, please accept these potions. They will allow you to turn into merfolk for five hours, though I will warn you, the transformation is not without pain. All necessary bones will break to accommodate your new body. After the transformation is complete, you will have all of the abilities of merpeople. The transformation will wear off after the five hours or when you get out of the water, and your body will return to its original form. There are three uses in each vile. Use them wisely."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Blaine said with gratitude as he bowed toward the king. "Two more things, if I may?" King Merrick nodded, and Blaine continued. "Do you know of anybody on land that might be able to give us information about Emelle?"

King Merrick thought for a moment and shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't."

At seeing Blaine's defeated look, one of the guards who had been watching the whole interaction spoke up, looking at the king. "Yiel Msidhisith, I'xi misilv ih siriihi zmi rsiith hiz. Tmi siil, Wessiz, zmi lisevis ih mi srsiss esssihv i mi zis ih mi rsiehssihv. Hil me es mi ihsith sleseli ih mi esssihv sihv es isisith i hehv vei i es phelphsi liih."

"My guard, Mako," the king said and looked toward Blaine with a smile on his face, "has told me of a seer named Willow. She resides on a small island to the west of the mainland. The only thing on the island is her hut, which is easy to find due to its purple roof. Go to her, and she will likely be able to help you with your journey to Emelle. Now, what was your second question?"

"Thank you, Mako," Blaine began, returning the smile and bowing in thanks to the guard for his information. "The second thing I wanted to ask, Your Majesty, was if there is any way someone could lead us back to the surface safely. We have magic that can get us through the water and would be much obliged if somebody could escort us to Willow's island if at all possible. Time really is of the essence."

"Msii, ziesv ithie fi zessehsh i issil mir?" King Merrick asked Mako. Since he was the one with the knowledge of Willow, it made sense for him to be their guide.

"Oh sielsi, Yiel Msidhisith," Mako answered, secretly glad to spend more time with the dark-haired half-elf.

"Mako has agreed to take you to Willow's island," King Merrick stated.

"Thank you for everything, Your Majesty," Blaine said as Mako led them out of the throne room toward a place where Blaine could transform Kurt once again into the giant octopus, and then perform the water breathing and telepathy spells on the group. While the boys prepared, Santana and Finn explained to Puck and Mako what they were doing. They also assured Puck that they would explain their mission on their way to Emelle. When Blaine was done casting his spells and Kurt was transformed, the group, minus Mako, grabbed onto Kurt, and he followed the merman to Willow's island.

The trip did not take long, and the group did not encounter any delays. After Kurt was an elf once again and the group was on the shore, Blaine walked out into the water to thank Mako for his kindness. Mako gifted Blaine with a shark-bone dagger and kissed him on the cheek, wishing him luck in his travels before diving back into the water. He didn't miss the stone-cold look on Kurt's face. Blaine turned around, shocked by what had just happened, and saw the look on Kurt's face.

_["That meant nothing, my love,"]_ Blaine said, showing Kurt with his eyes that he had no feelings for the merman.

_["I know, thiramen,"]_ Kurt answered. ["_I can't blame him, to be honest. As long as you know you're mine, others can pine for you as much as they want."]_

_["Of course, I'm yours,"]_ Blaine replied. "Ok, let's go find Willow," he said to the group.

It didn't take the group long to find Willow's hut. The island wasn't huge, as King Merrick had suggested, and the purple roof made it easy to find. As they approached, they saw a lone figure sitting outside the hut. When they got closer, they could make out that the figure was a woman. She was an older looking tiefling with rough, red, pockmarked skin and long, wavy, brown hair. She had gray eyes and a beautiful face. She appeared short and very muscular. _["This must be Willow,"]_ Blaine told the group.

"Hello, prophecy fillers," Willow said once they were mere feet from where she sat, rocking in her chair. Her voice was gravelly and seemed to come from the back of her throat.

"You know who we are?" Blaine asked.

"I do," Willow rasped. "You bear the mark of those who will bring peace to the world. I know not how it will be accomplished, only that it will be accomplished. Prophecies always are. You will have trials along the way, and things will not always work out the way you think they will. They will work out, though." She looked at each of the companions in turn. She seemed to be studying them, but her eyes only took in their faces for a moment or two before flitting on to the next one.

"When we found Puck, our clue was to find 'one black and one white' in Emelle," Blaine explained. "The merfolk said that you might be able to point us in the right direction."

"I can do you one better," Willow said with a gleam in her eye. "I can give you a map." She then pulled out a map of the world with several markings on it. "I have marked cities and areas that will be useful to you on your journey." She pointed to each mark with crooked finger. "I have seen you in some of these places, though, again, I cannot tell you why."

"Thank you, Willow," Blaine said as he accepted the map gratefully.

"There are a few more things I need to say and give you. Then, your time on my island will be complete," Willow stated. "You will need these at some point during your travels." She handed them each a crystal dagger and a stone tile. Each one had a drawing on it. "The stones you will need in Emelle. The daggers are my gift to you. They cannot be broken and will come in quite handy when all other weapons fail. Use them well."

"Again, thank you," Blaine said. "You've been very informative and kind to us. If there is nothing else, we will return to shore and begin our journey to Emelle."

As the group got ready to leave, two male tieflings, one red and one purple, appeared out of nowhere and startled Finn. He swung his scimitar and hit the red one in the arm. Not knowing why he was being attacked, the tiefling swung back at Finn with his longsword, missing him by inches. Seeing that Finn was being attacked, Kurt shot an arrow at the same time that Santana and Puck ran up, hitting him with their weapons.

Blaine was trying to assess the situation and come up with a plan to stop the fight before anybody got killed. Not knowing where to aim, the tiefling manically swung his sword and hit Finn in the arm, causing the dragonborn to drop his own weapon.

"Stop, and we will not harm you further," Blaine called out. The tiefling did not hear him and swung at Puck. Thankfully, the dwarf was able to get out of the way unharmed. Blaine did not waste any more time and sent a spell toward the tiefling that caused all of the liquid to leave his body [Blight]. The creature sank to the ground, lifeless, and the group turned to the purple male that arrived with him.

"Thank you for giving my brother one last hurrah," the purple tiefling said in a calm tone. He vanished for a split second and reappeared next to where Blaine was standing. "And thank you for trying to spare him," the male said before he kissed Blaine on the lips and disappeared again.

"Who the hell were they?" Santana asked as she tied some cloth around Finn's arm to stop the bleeding. She could tell by the look in Kurt's eyes that all hell was about to break loose; their healers were going to be incapacitated for a while.

"Those," Willow answered, "were my sons. Athan," she pointed at on the ground, "and Rainer who just left." She looked toward Blaine. The sound of her voice had made everyone jump; they'd nearly forgotten that she was there.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" Finn answered in a panic, really not wanting to upset the woman who had helped them so much.

"Don't be, young one," Willow replied. "It was his time." She didn't need to explain to them that a disease had been slowly killing him, and this was more merciful than watching him die a slow and painful death.

As Willow spoke, Kurt was staring at Blaine, and Blaine was staring at Kurt. Blaine was trying to read his soulmate's face. He could sense that Kurt was getting frustrated with other men coming on to him, and he had no idea what to do to fix it.

"Willow?" Santana asked, nodding toward the boys and their staring contest.

"You three come with me," Willow answered knowingly. Finn, Puck, and Santana were ready to follow her into her hut when they saw Kurt start in Blaine's direction. Santana watched with baited breath, hoping that her two companions finally trusted them enough to be themselves without fear of ridicule.

Kurt stalked over to Blaine, grabbed him by his jacket, looked straight into his eyes, and kissed him. The kiss was intense, full of passion and want and love. When they needed air, they broke apart, and Kurt commanded, "Put up your hut, and make it so nobody else can come in."

[_Same drill as last night, San,_] Blaine said to Santana, not breaking eye contact with Kurt.

[_Get some, Hobbit! By the way, the boys know now, and I'm guessing that's what Porcelain wanted when he laid that kiss on you,_] she answered, and Blaine immediately put up the hut, a small smile on his face.

Once the hut was conjured, Blaine led Kurt inside and laid his backpack on the ground, not yet knowing what was going to happen.

Kurt copied Blaine's actions. He got his bedroll and put it on the ground, pulling Blaine's out to lay it beside his. Kurt then walked up to Blaine and asked him without words how far he wanted to go. He knew they had just had this conversation the previous night, and he just wanted to make sure it still stood.

"I trust you, my love," Blaine replied in a whisper, not wanting to speak any louder and break the mood. "I want everything with you; all you have to do is show me."

Kurt surged in for another kiss and began unfastening Blaine's clothing. Blaine followed his lead, his hands flying to Kurt's chest and fiddling with the buttons. As they were taking their clothes off, Blaine magically cleaned them both from head to toe, not wanting to taste the saltwater from the sea. Once they were naked, Kurt continued to kiss Blaine's neck and collarbone slowly. He took his time, savoring the scent of his soulmate. He didn't notice the salty taste he was expecting, but he didn't want to break the mood by thanking Blaine for cleaning them. Blaine's moans were too wonderful to interrupt. Now that the initial anger had worn off, he wanted to show his thiramen just how much he loved him, how much he wanted him. He sucked a mark on Blaine, high enough that others would be able to see it and warn them that Blaine was taken.

"Oh my gods, Kurt," Blaine moaned, not minding the possessiveness of Kurt's kisses. "That feels so amazing." Blaine arched his neck so that Kurt had more room to work. He had seen love marks on others at school, so he knew exactly what was happening. Blaine had always thought that the marks looked painful, but my goodness did it feel amazing!

"Would you like to do the same things we did last night or try something new?" Kurt asked huskily as he admired the mark he had made. "Since we are sailing tomorrow, we could stay up all night, learning about each other, and sleep all day tomorrow."

"Yes," Blaine moaned loudly. "Gods, yes, I want to learn everything!" He was already missing Kurt's hot breath against his skin.

"Lay down," Kurt commanded gently. "I will demonstrate on you, and then, you can reciprocate if you'd like. Does that work for you?"

Instead of an immediate verbal response, Blaine quickly laid down and said, "My body is yours to do with as you please. Teach me, my love. I trust you and know you would never do anything to hurt me. I want to know how to please you, how to make you feel good."

Kurt straddled Blaine's thighs, careful not to have their cocks touch. He hoped they would pleasure each other to completion multiple times that night, and he didn't want the first time to be over so quickly. "Last night, you made the most delicious moans when I touched your nipples. I'd like to keep exploring to see what other spots I can find that bring you that much pleasure," Kurt whispered brokenly as he kissed down Blaine's body, finding that the closer his kisses got to Blaine's hips, the louder his soulmate moaned.

After he had sucked a decent-sized mark on both hips, Kurt looked up to see Blaine watching him. His pupils were blown, he was panting, and a sheen of sweat covered his body. He had propped up his head on his discarded clothes so that he didn't have to strain to see what his love was doing. Blaine was, after all, an excellent student and wanted to learn as much as he could.

Kurt moved down to Blaine's feet. He himself wasn't someone who wanted others touching his feet and knew that if he tried to explore this, he would be uncomfortable and Blaine would definitely sense it. So, he started kissing at Blaine's ankle. Getting no significant response, he moved upward, kissing Blaine's calf and finally reaching his knee where he did get a reaction.

He worked a mark on the underside of each knee, then continued his journey upward toward where he knew Blaine wanted him. The further up he got, the louder Blaine's moans became. Kurt could tell Blaine was getting close to cumming, so he backed off just a little and leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. "There's one more thing I want to show you before you let go," Kurt explained. "Let me know when you've calmed down, because what I want to show you is pretty intense. I want you to enjoy it for as long as possible."

Having Kurt lying next to him and not on top of him significantly helped Blaine calm down. He focused solely on the kisses and the way Kurt ran his fingers through his curly hair. When Blaine's breathing evened out, Kurt leaned away from the kiss and looked deep into his eyes. "What I want to show you next will be important for you to learn before we take the final step," Kurt explained. He didn't want it to sound too clinical, but he wanted his soulmate to understand why they needed to do this.

"Ok, my love," Blaine answered. "I'm ready."

Kurt began working his way back down Blaine's body, not lingering anywhere in particular or letting him get too worked up. Once he got near Blaine's cock, he kissed at the base of the shaft but didn't go any further. He started kissing and licking at Blaine's balls instead, getting lower and closer to Blaine's entrance. Blaine seemed to catch on to what Kurt was doing and raised his legs, holding them with his hands to give Kurt more room to work him over. Noticing this, Kurt looked up toward Blaine and winked at him, continuing his journey toward his prize. Kurt loved doing this. He loved everything about it, the feel, the smell, the taste. And, he loved that he was doing this with his soulmate, the man he was meant to spend his life with.

At first, he began with little kitten licks, getting the skin wet and slick. Then, he began to make bigger swipes with his tongue, slightly probing the hole.

Blaine was having his mind blown. He had never in his life experienced pleasure like this, and he was afraid that the slightest breeze or touch to his neglected cock would cause him to explode. By the time Kurt's tongue was breaching his hole, he was all but shouting in pleasure.

Kurt knew that Blaine was close, but he hoped that he could hold out just a little bit longer. He wanted to get a finger inside him and find that one spot he knew would make his love feel better than he ever had in his life. "Thiramen," Kurt said as he took a breath, "I'm going to do one more thing, and then, I want you to let go. Okay?"

Blaine couldn't form words anymore, so he nodded vigorously. He wasn't nervous at all, just eager for what would happen next.

While Blaine was thinking, Kurt was wetting a single finger in his mouth before moving his lips back to Blaine's entrance, wetting it as much as he could. He pressed the finger in slowly, watching Blaine for any signs of pain or discomfort. Kurt made sure to continue to kiss around the rim and up to his balls, working his way up his cock. By the time he reached the crown, Kurt had his finger all the way in Blaine and had started to move. Seeing no discomfort at all, Kurt simultaneously engulfed Blaine's cock in the wet heat of his mouth and pumped his finger in and out, searching for the magical bundle of nerves that he knew would bring Blaine so much pleasure.

He didn't have to search for long. Once he found it, he doubled his efforts, sucking and moving up and down Blaine's cock while massaging that bundle. Several seconds later, Blaine was releasing into Kurt's mouth with a loud shout, cumming so hard he saw stars and blacked out for a moment. The sounds Blaine was making, in conjunction with his own movements on the bedroll, let Kurt find his own release soon after. It wasn't as powerful as the orgasm the night before, and that was fine with him. He had just rocked his love's world.

Kurt worked Blaine through his orgasm and pulled off of his cock before it became oversensitive; at the same time, he pulled his finger out as well. He kissed his way up Blaine's body until he reached his lips and kissed him like his life depended on it. Blaine, coherent again, noticed the taste of himself on Kurt's tongue and felt his cock trying to harden again. Kurt noticed it as well.

"I'm not sure I can go again so soon, thiramen," Kurt said with a chuckle.

"Again?" Blaine asked, finally looking down to see that Kurt had reached his release, too. "I wanted to reciprocate, my love," he pouted.

"You were so beautiful; I couldn't help myself," Kurt explained.

"Can I do that to you tomorrow night? I know we said we would stay up all night, but that made me really sleepy. I want to do to you what you did to me," Blaine asked.

"If you want to, I won't complain at all," Kurt said, smiling. He gave Blaine a gentle peck. "Sleep, thiramen. We will talk more tomorrow."

"Good night, my love," Blaine said sleepily. "Sal aestar va, Kurt."

"Sal aestar va, eso, Blaine," Kurt replied as he fell asleep on Blaine's chest, letting his soulmate's heartbeat lull him to sleep.

A couple of hours later, Blaine woke up from having the most amazing dream. He was rock hard and wanted to do exactly what had happened in his dream. There would be no waiting until tomorrow night; this was going to happen right now. Blaine started to raise himself up so that he could get to Kurt's neck and chest. Kurt lay on his side, back to Blaine, leaving Blaine with the perfect angle to do everything he wanted to his soulmate's perfect body. He started to leave little kisses here and there as he worked his way down to Kurt's groin.

Blaine used his magic to help hold up the blanket [Mage Hand] so that he didn't feel smothered as he finally found his prize. He tried to remember exactly what Kurt had done to him just hours before. _"Licking the balls,"_ Blaine thought. _"Yeah, I can definitely do that!"_ Blaine loved the feel of Kurt against his tongue. He loved the taste even more. Kurt was starting to whimper above him, though not quite out of his trance-like sleep just yet.

Balls being thoroughly licked, Blaine ventured even lower to Kurt's entrance. _"Oh dear gods, he smells amazing,"_ Blaine thought as he dove in with little finesse, licking and kissing at the musky smelling skin. _"This is even better than having it done to me,"_ he thought as he began to poke his tongue in and out of the hole.

Kurt had fully awoken from his trance by now and had thrown the covers off of Blaine's head. "Thiramen...gods, that feels so amazing!"

Moving the spectral hand that had been holding the blankets up to Kurt's entrance, Blaine said, "I had a dream about this, and when I woke up, I just knew I had to. Am I doing it right so far?"

"Yes, thiramen," Kurt moaned. "It all feels so, so good! Could you...with your hand though...want to feel your skin." Sentences were hard.

Before moving the spectral hand, Blaine slicked up his own finger with another spell [Prestidigitation] and switched them almost simultaneously, causing Kurt to moan even louder. Blaine loved the tight, warm feeling of Kurt. He continued licking and sucking any patch of skin he could get to as he began to move his finger in and out like he remembered Kurt doing to him.

When Blaine felt Kurt's body relax, he inserted another finger and repeated his actions. He knew he had found that magical spot when Kurt all but screamed and ground himself down onto Blaine's fingers. As he added a third finger, he took Kurt into his mouth and began to suck.

Kurt was a babbling mess and didn't even realize how close he was. What pushed him over the edge was Blaine using his magical spectral hand one last time and having it tweak Kurt's nipples. The only warning Blaine got before Kurt came down his throat was a guttural moan.

"Holy fucking shit," Kurt said after he had come back to his senses. He was looking to return the favor, but Blaine had already finished himself off.

"That was so hot!" Blaine exclaimed. "I barely even had to touch myself, and I was exploding all over like a fountain."

"I love you, thiramen!" Kurt said with a chuckle.

"I love you, too!" Blaine replied and crawled back up beside Kurt, yawning in earnest now and falling asleep seconds after curling up by his side.

* * *

A/N: Translations

**Kurt and Blaine's translations from Elvish to Common

Sal uann va desha thar, thiramen. = I am going to make you feel so good, love.

Veluthe = Beautiful

Sal aestar va, Kurt = I love you, Kurt

Sal aestar va, eso, Blaine = I love you, too, Blaine

**Merfolk translations from Aquatic to Common

Ssiith phe sihv vi hi ehilhili. = Stay put and do not interfere.

Yiel Msidhisith, I'xi misilv ih siriihi zmi rsiith hiz. Tmi siil, Wessiz, zmi lisevis ih mi srsiss esssihv i mi zis ih mi rsiehssihv. Hil me es mi ihsith sleseli ih mi esssihv sihv es isisith i hehv vei i es phelphsi liih. = Your Majesty, I've heard of someone who may know. The seer, Willow, who resides on the small island to the west of the mainland. Her hut is the only structure on the island, and it is easy to find due to its purple roof.

Msii, ziesv ithie fi zessehsh i issil mir? = Mako, would you be willing to escort them?

Oh sielsi, Yiel Msidhisith. = Of course, Your Majesty.


	9. Emelle

Tags: Soulmate Bonding; Anal Intercourse

A/N: Translations at the end.

* * *

When the group woke up the following morning, they were more than ready to leave the island. They were so close to finding their last companions and that much closer to accomplishing their shared goal. The group decided to travel back to the ship via Kurt, who would transform into a giant octopus once again, and Blaine would cast the spells that allowed them to breathe underwater and talk telepathically.

They didn't have any trouble getting their ship out of the dock at Slosa, and by mid-morning, they were setting sail for Emelle. The companions talked about the places they had traveled before. None had been to Emelle, though Santana had heard stories about the land from other sailors, each one more elaborate and outlandish than the previous one. One story told of Emelle was that it was the most beautiful place anyone had ever seen or could imagine. Another story told about mutated animals. Yet other stories spoke about Emelle as the place where one could find all of the answers in the universe. Santana had no idea which accounts to believe and was mentally preparing for the worst of them.

During the day, Kurt would climb the mast of the ship to see what birds he could shoot for their food while Puck fished. While they were apart, Blaine studied the riddle he had found on the back of the map.

_"I have many tongues but cannot taste,  
By me, most things are turned to waste.  
I crack and snap, yet I stay whole,  
I may take the largest toll.  
I assisted all of the first men,  
And I will pay them back again.  
Around me, people snuggle and sleep,  
Yet run when I am released from my keep.  
I jump around and leap and bound,  
The cold man wishes I he had found."_

"_What could this mean?_" Blaine asked himself one day while looking at the riddle and rubbing the smooth side of the stone Willow had given him. He found it comforting and didn't want to chance distorting the picture on the other side. Thinking that he might have the answer to the riddle, he put the map away and secured the stone in his pack.

"How much longer do you think it will be before we reach Emelle?" Blaine asked Santana on the morning of their third day at sea.

"I'm not sure," Santana answered truthfully. "A lot depends on the cooperation of the weather and how accurate that map is, though my guess would be around four or five more days." Santana was respectful enough to not ask about Blaine's relationship with Kurt. She knew, as they all did, that something was going on between the two more than just a typical couple and that they would tell them when they were ready. Santana had an inkling that one of them had been hurt before; it was her dragonborn third eye that gave her that knowledge, and she didn't want to push either of them away from each other, sensing that they needed each other in some profound way.

Every evening, the boys put up their hut at bedtime while the others favored sleeping under the open sky. During their nights together, the boys continued to explore each others' bodies, making good on their promise to learn each and every pleasure spot the other had. When they had been at sea for three days, they finally felt like they were ready to take the last step in their relationship. Soulmates, as they understood them, could seal their bond by joining with each other in the most intimate way possible. With this bond, they would be able to sense when the other was in danger and feel when the other had strong emotions, either good or bad.

One reason Kurt wanted to prolong the joining was that he wanted it to last longer than just a couple of minutes. He didn't wish for Blaine to feel bad about himself, like he couldn't give Kurt the pleasure he wanted to give him, and Kurt wanted didn't want to feel the disappointment that Blaine would most likely feel when he came down from his orgasm after the bonding. Sure, Kurt wanted it to last as long as possible, but he knew it would be beautiful whether it lasted one minute or ten minutes.

"Are you ready, my love?" Blaine asked that night after they had entered the hut and prepared their bedrolls like every other night. He was nervous, excited, and scared. Blaine did not want to disappoint his love. He wanted to make sure that tonight was as pleasurable as it could be for both of them. Every time they were together, he had been building his sexual stamina. He was hopeful that he would be able to last long enough to give his love the pleasure he deserved.

"Uann aestar lor tel'quiet, Blaine," Kurt whispered.

Blaine laid Kurt down on their makeshift bed and began to kiss him gently. He slowly took off his clothes with ease; he had gotten the hang of doing it seamlessly over the past few nights. When Kurt was entirely undressed, Blaine removed all but his knickers, not wanting to overstimulate himself with skin on skin contact. He laid down next to Kurt and kissed him for several more minutes. The kisses were slow and languid. Then, he moved down Kurt's neck and torso, making sure he paid ample attention to Kurt's most sensitive spots.

When Blaine reached Kurt's cock, he intentionally ignored it, opting to lick and kiss on his balls for a few moments. Blaine nudged Kurt's thighs with his nose, prompting his soulmate to hold his legs up so that Blaine could start preparing him. He kissed around Kurt's entrance, knowing that Kurt secretly loved the anticipation. After what seemed like forever to Kurt, Blaine licked one long swipe from Kurt's ass to his balls, sucking each one in his mouth for a moment. Then, he lightly blew on the whole area. He repeated this action several times until Kurt was panting and writhing beneath him. Once Kurt was this worked up, Blaine knew it was time to open his love up.

"Va desha veluthe, my love," Blaine whispered before diving into Kurt with his tongue, simultaneously using the spell for his spectral hand to stroke Kurt's cock, making his love shout in ecstasy. He added one finger in next to his tongue, quickly followed by a second. When Blaine added the third finger, knowing that he wanted to make what was going to happen next as painless as possible, Blaine dismissed his magic and took Kurt into his mouth.

"OH MY GODS, THIRAMEN!" Kurt screamed as Blaine brushed his prostate. "Sal'm aniq."

Hearing that his soulmate was ready for him, Blaine stripped off his knickers and magically coated his cock in an oil-like substance.

"I love you so much, Kurt," Blaine said as he leaned down to kiss him. Then, he guided himself into his love. He slowed down each time Kurt inhaled through his nose and his body tensed. When he felt Kurt relax, he would rock in a little more. Blaine repeated this until his hips were touching Kurt's cheeks. He was so overwhelmed by warmth and tightness that he had to take a minute to calm himself down.

Kurt was beginning to feel their soulmate bond and could recognize what Blaine was feeling. Kurt rubbed Blaine's back and whispered sweet nothings into his ear. "I love you too, Blaine," Kurt said when Blaine was calm and made eye contact with him. "So very much."

With each thrust Blaine made, their bond got stronger. Each man could feel the intense love the other one had for them, as if they'd gained another sense, allowing them to read their soulmate's every emotion. The feelings were so powerful that both knew at that moment that their bonding was not going to last very long. When they made eye contact again, their soul bond became stronger still. Neither one could look away from the other. Blaine sped up his movements and instinctively put more power behind each thrust. He took his right hand, using his left to continue to hold him up, and wrapped it around Kurt's cock, matching the strokes with his movements in and out of Kurt.

A dozen more thrusts and each was screaming with pleasure, both at their completion and at the sealing of their bond that seemed to intensify the orgasm. The second Blaine was able to break eye contact with Kurt, he captured his lips in a passionate kiss, continuing to pour all of the love and adoration he had for his soulmate into the moment. Kurt matched every motion Blaine made, clenching down on Blaine's cock when he tried to pull out of him.

"Not yet," Kurt pleaded. "Stay in me a little longer, please, thiramen."

"E va kerradun," Blaine whispered as he continued to kiss Kurt.

They fell asleep still connected, waking early the next morning with a carnal, desperate need to have each other again. There was nothing slow or sweet about this joining. This time, it was rough and dirty, yet no less loving than any other time.

"Harder, Blaine. Please," Kurt whimpered.

Blaine complied instantly. Neither man understood why they were having these feelings, and neither was complaining. Blaine was consistently hitting Kurt's prostate, amplifying his pleasure with each thrust. Their bond was even stronger than it had been the night before. Both were grunting and moaning with each movement Blaine made.

As Blaine felt that familiar sensation inside him, he went to reach for Kurt's cock to stroke him to completion. He wasn't expecting Kurt to cum right before he touched him. Blaine grabbed Kurt's cock to help him through his orgasm, shouting as his own ripped through him as Kurt tightened down around Blaine.

Blaine collapsed on Kurt as the last of his orgasm tapered off. "Wow," Blaine breathed into Kurt's neck. That was the only word that seemed to fit.

"My sentiments exactly," Kurt giggled. "Any thoughts as to why that happened? It felt so much different than last night. Do you think it's a soulmate bond thing?"

Blaine leaned up and braced himself on his elbows and forearms, leaning down to give Kurt a sweet kiss. "I'm not sure, my love," he answered. "I've never read anything about this. I imagine, though, that it might manifest differently in each soul bond. Every couple or trio is different, so each morning after will be different. I will see if I can find anything in the books I brought with me, though, if you'd like."

"I'd like to know more about soul bonds, and I'll even help you look," Kurt said, initiating another round of kisses.

Blaine pulled out of Kurt, becoming noticeably oversensitive. He kissed Kurt's wince away, hating that he caused even the smallest discomfort to his soulmate. Blaine then used his magic to clean them both up. "We should get dressed," he said when he was finished. He looked outside the hut and noticed Santana at the helm. She looked as though she had just awakened and was correcting any drifting they had done during the night.

The men packed up their bedrolls and donned their gear, preparing to face yet another day at sea. When Blaine dispelled the hut, he greeted Santana so she wouldn't be startled. She replied with a nod, giving them both a knowing look but still not saying anything.

"We soul bonded last night," Kurt announced, knowing that she already knew somehow.

"It's about time," Santana snarked, smiling at the boys.

"I'm going to climb up and see what I can get us for breakfast," Kurt said with a blush on his cheeks. He was actually expecting worse from Santana; he was thankful she kept her cruder remarks to herself.

"Thank you, my love," Blaine said, pecking his cheek, unsure how he would react to such a public display of affection.

Feeling Blaine's hesitance through their bond, Kurt kissed Blaine right on the lips, not caring about who was watching or what they would say or think. Kurt could faintly make out a wolf whistle through the haze of passion. It sounded like Puck. With one more peck to Blaine's lips, Kurt climbed the mast to see what he could shoot for their morning meal.

"Damn, Hobbit," Santana said, impressed. "My lady parts are all sorts of excited!"

"I could help you with that," Puck said arrogantly.

Santana whipped around, almost knocking Blaine out with her tendrils, while pulling out her shortsword and held it at Puck's neck. "If you **ever **try to touch me, I will cut your tiny dick off and feed it to whatever wildlife is around."

Puck gulped. "Got it," he said and retreated to the side of the ship to fish.

Both Kurt and Puck caught food for breakfast and cooked it to practiced perfection. Kurt noticed the tension between Santana and Puck but, having missed the earlier interaction between them, didn't let it bother him much. The rest of the day continued in the same tense manner. Puck made sure to keep his distance from Santana, and she glared at him every time they made eye contact. She was fairly sure the dwarf wouldn't try anything again like he had earlier.

Blaine filled Kurt in on what had transpired while he was hunting. Kurt giggled, wishing he could have seen the interaction. The men spent the rest of the day reading through the books that Blaine had brought with him, looking for anything with information on soulmates and bonds. When they came up empty-handed, Blaine sent a message to his mother, asking for her advice.

[**Letting you know that I'm well. We are currently at sea, heading to our next destination. What can you tell me about soulmates and bonding?**]

A few minutes later, he had his response. He guessed the response had taken so long because his mother knew she was limited on what she could say with the spell. [**Glad you're well. Soulmates are rare, though our family seems to be lucky. You complete each other, feel all they feel. It can be intense.**]

[**How so? I know you guys love me. Don't have to say it back. Let Papa and Grandfather know I love all of you tons!**] Blaine sent back.

[**Ditto! Won't sugarcoat. Being intimate changes after the first time. More animalistic almost. At least the first time. As the bond evens, so does sex.**]

[**Last time. Thank you, Momma. That makes sense. I've found my soulmate. An elf named Kurt. He's beautiful, kind, and absolutely my other half.**] Blaine was happy with this final message and the chance to finally have some sort of conversation with his mother.

[**Congratulations, my darling! When you can, please come home, even just for a day, so we can meet your Kurt. Stay safe. Love you tons.**]

That night in the hut, the men gave in to their instincts, repeating what had happened when they woke up that morning. When their breathing had evened out and Blaine had fully come back to his senses, he pulled himself out of Kurt, causing him to whimper from the loss. "I'm so sorry, my love," Blaine apologized.

"Thiramen," Kurt said after taking a couple of deep breaths, adjusting to Blaine's absence, "I was completely wonderful until you pulled out. Trust me. If you were doing something I was not okay with, I would have stopped you."

"Promise?" Blaine whispered, laying back down beside Kurt and moving their bodies right next to each other.

"Absofuckinglutely," Kurt giggled, hoping that this would lighten Blaine's mood.

It worked. He grinned mischievously. "I love you so much, Kurt," Blaine said before kissing Kurt fiercely.

"I love you too, goof," Kurt replied.

After a couple more minutes of unhurried kissing, Blaine related to Kurt what his mother had said, telling him about soulmates and wanting to meet Kurt someday.

"Well, that explains the sex," Kurt replied turning to look at Blaine. "I'd love to meet your family, thiramen. They all sound so lovely, though, I might have to teach some of the other people in your village a lesson for treating you like they did."

"Don't," Blaine said seriously. "They ultimately led me to the library, which led me to Deswore, which led me to you. And that, my love, I wouldn't change for the world."

"I believe we would have met no matter what," Kurt said. "We're soulmates. We were always meant to find each other. Maybe this way, we got to meet each other earlier than we would have otherwise. So, for that, I will be forever grateful to the jerks that tormented you."

The men talked for a little longer and then fell into a peaceful sleep. Kurt woke up several hours later and lay next to his soulmate, thinking about all of the events of his life and how he had gotten to where he was right then. Sure, he had been hurt, more deeply than he had really explained to Blaine, but laying there, with his soulmate in his arms, it was all worth it. He knew he would have to tell Blaine the whole story at some point in time; he would know when the time was right.

When Blaine woke the next morning, he felt like his sexual desire for Kurt had dampened some. He didn't feel the need to be as rough as he had the previous day. They were able to take their time and really enjoy each other. That is, up until the moment they were both ready to climax. Then, Kurt flipped them over and rode Blaine like there was no tomorrow. He took himself in hand, since Blaine was helping him guide his hips up and down at a brutal pace. The boys were both so in sync now that they came at the same time, shouting each other's names.

Kurt collapsed on Blaine, not caring that he was laying in his own cum. He knew that once they separated, Blaine would use his magic to clean them both off. They lay there for a few more minutes, just enjoying the quiet and the intense emotions they were sharing through their bond. Eventually, Kurt pulled off of Blaine, hissing somewhat at the sensation. Just as he predicted, Blaine cleaned them both and then lovingly dressed Kurt, kissing each patch of skin before he covered it.

"Thank you, thiramen," Kurt whispered against Blaine's lips when he had buttoned the last of many buttons on Kurt's top. "Allow me to return the favor."

Kurt slowly began to dress Blaine in the same way Blaine had outfitted him. When he got Blaine's knickers and pants almost to his hips, he noticed how aroused his love was from the entire interaction. Making a quick decision, he sunk down on him without warning or hesitation. Blaine thread his fingers through Kurt's hair unconsciously. When he realized what he was doing, he tugged them back, and Kurt pulled off of him a moment later.

"Do it," Kurt commanded as he grabbed Blaine's hands and put them back on his head. "Take your pleasure. You'll be able to feel if I don't like anything or if you go too far." Then, he returned to what he was doing.

Blaine experimented, moving his hips back and forth shallowly while gripping Kurt's hair, testing the limits. Kurt grabbed Blaine's ass, encouraging the movements while he slid his own pants and knickers down so he could take care of himself. As Blaine thrust deeper and faster, Kurt stroked himself faster and tighter, wanting to finish when Blaine did. Both felt the pull of the bond, letting the other feel the immense pleasure they were both getting.

"I'm close, my love," Blaine panted out, looking down and seeing the beautiful blue eyes he loved so much looking back at him through his lashes. Seconds after eye contact, both boys came, Kurt with a deep moan and Blaine shouting Kurt's name. When Kurt had worked Blaine through his pleasure, he pulled off, knowing he would be overly sensitive having just cum not long ago.

"New morning tradition?" Kurt innocently asked as he pulled Blaine's pants the rest of the way up, fastening them in their proper place. Meanwhile, Blaine cleaned Kurt up once again with his magic. "Thank you, thiramen," Kurt said as he pulled his own clothes back into place and stood up, kissing Blaine.

"I wouldn't mind that being part of our morning routine," Blaine cheekily answered. "Only if you agree that we can switch it up sometimes." At Kurt's nod, Blaine leaned in and whispered in a deep voice, "I love having you in my mouth." Then, he proceeded to pack up their things as if he hadn't said anything at all.

"Are you ready to head out, my love?" Blaine softly asked after everything had been put where it needed to be. He smirked a bit at Kurt's obvious surprise, feeling a hint of arousal coming from his soulmate.

Instead of verbally answering him, Kurt just nodded his head, grabbed Blaine's hand, and walked with him toward Santana as he dispelled the hut.

"We should reach Emelle by nightfall," Santana said as the men approached her, knowing that would be the first thing they would ask about.

"Thanks, Tana," Blaine said. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Probably not as well as you both did," she answered back. "Thanks for asking, B."

Blaine had noticed that when she was sincere, Santana would call him by his name or "B." When she was feeling feisty or irritated for whatever reason, that's when he would be called "Hobbit." She had names for each of them. They all knew not to get offended; it was just how she was. Blaine honestly believed if he asked her not to call him something, she would respect it. Something about Santana made him believe that she was a trustworthy and loyal person.

The day at sea continued in a similar state to the others until around midday. It became foggy, and they could only see a few feet beyond the ship. Santana slowed the boat down as much as she could without bringing it to a complete stop. She was afraid of crashing into something due to the low visibility. Once the sails were down, an invisible tether felt as though it was put around the ship, pulling them to the right, though none of them knew what it was.

"Are one of you using your magic to steer the ship?" Santana asked Kurt and Blaine.

"I don't think either of us has any magic strong enough to do that, Tana," Blaine answered. Kurt nodded in agreement.

"Well, something is towing us then," she explained, glancing over the ship's railing.

Blaine, after hearing that they were being pulled by an unknown force, began casting the spell that would allow them to communicate telepathically. Once it was cast, he used telepathy to tell his companions that the spell had been cast just in case they needed it, and it would last for an hour. He said he would try to recast it about 10 minutes before it was supposed to run out.

"Be ready for anything, everyone," Santana instructed aloud. Each member of the group readied their weapons and spells, preparing for some kind of attack. Once the ship came to a stop, they were surprised to see a dock. There were no other ships in sight, only fog, though not as dense as it had been before.

Blaine was the first one off of the ship. ["_The dock is sturdy. I can't see anyone else, but_ _keep your eyes open and your weapons ready. Use this bond to communicate if you are going to come near someone else. That way, we won't be taking swings at each other."_] Each of them heard the others agreeing to what Blaine had said.

An overrun field of grass lay in front of them as the dock met the land. The field was neighbored by united hedges. A lone, wrought iron gate stood in the back, slightly weathered and discolored, which only added to its beauty. The flowers and plants were clearly in need of a little care; they seemed to be forever trying to expand. The hedges reached seven feet high, and no one in the group had ever seen any grow this tall. Various stepping stones marked the best spots, beckoning people to explore the garden that lay in the middle of the vast area, showing them the best sights at the same time. Grass, roots, and vines had already begun to crawl their way over and around the field, eager to claim all pieces of land. The flowers and plants were hard to miss, and the hedges were nothing to sneeze at, but the rest would always be eclipsed by the gate.

During their walk through the garden, Blaine guessed that it was nearing an hour since he had cast the telepathy spell. He recast it while his companions were taking in the sights of the garden. He let them know what he was doing so they could protect him in case anything tried to jump out and surprise him. After the spell was recast, the group continued along the path toward the gate.

When they were 30 feet from the gate, the ground beneath them shook, and a creature appeared from it. Having read about them as a child, Blaine knew precisely what the creature was. Its arms were like clubs of jagged stone that swung at its sides when it moved. Its head and body were made of stone and dirt, and there were pieces of gems, minerals, and metal interspersed throughout it.

["_This is an earth elemental. If it comes at us, fight it, hit it with magical weapons and thunder if you have it. It's immune to poison."_] Blaine told the group.

"Yai v'rr rak vaett kloto saekot v'klaik ae g'slk," the creature said in a deep, guttural voice.

* * *

A/N: Translations

**Elvish to Common

Uann aestar lor tel'quiet, Blaine. = Make love to me, Blaine.

Va desha veluthe, my love. = You are so beautiful, my love.

Sal'm aniq. = I'm ready.

E va kerradun. = As you wish.

**Terran to Common

Yai v'rr rak vaett kloto saekot v'klaik ae g'slk. = You will not pass these gates without a fight.


	10. The Garden

Tags: Battle; Wounds; 69

A/N: Translations at the end.

* * *

"Can anyone understand what it's saying?" Blaine asked.

All the others replied that they could not.

Blaine told them all not to move any closer to the creature. ["_I need to cast another spell and am worried about using too much magic without knowing if we will have to fight this guy. He doesn't seem to be hostile toward us right now, but that could change very quickly."_]

Again, all of them agreed, staying vigilant while Blaine cast the spell that allowed him to understand all spoken languages [Comprehend Language]. The only downside to the spell was that it didn't allow him to speak the language he could understand.

["_Ok. That's done. I'm going to take a small step forward to see if it will speak again,"_] Blaine told the others.

When he moved, the elemental said, "Yai v'rr rak vaett kloto saekot v'klaik ae g'slk."

["_Did that sound like the last time?"_] Blaine asked.

Finn and Santana both thought that it did, while Kurt and Puck couldn't quite tell. Blaine agreed with Finn and Santana.

"It says that we cannot pass through the gates without a fight," Blaine translated for them.

"There is one of them and five of us," Puck reasoned. "Surely, we could battle it and be on our way."

["_We need to do as much damage as we can before this thing gets to swing at us. Kurt and I can shoot it with our arrows, and you guys rush it. Puck, since your battleaxe isn't magically imbued, is there anything you can do to it?"_] Blaine asked.

Everyone agreed with the plan, and Puck assured Blaine that he had a couple of spells he could use that would add magical damage to his axe.

["_Alright, let's do this guys! NOW!"_] Blaine shouted, and both he and Kurt fired their arrows while Finn, Santana, and Puck rushed toward the elemental. As Kurt and Blaine's magical arrows struck the elemental, the other three reached him and took swings with their own weapons. Only Santana and Finn made contact.

The elemental let out a loud, angry roar, the magical weapons having done some noticeable damage. The elemental was missing chunks of earth on its chest and torso. As the roar faded, the air shifted, and two more elementals showed up. One was made of fire and scorched all of the ground close to it. The other was made of air that looked like a rotating tornado.

["_Don't hit the fire one with poison or fire; it doesn't do any damage. And lightning, thunder, and poison will do nothing to the air one_,"] Blaine explained as he cast a spell that encompassed all three elementals and ensure that the placement would not hit his friends. The enchantment caused a loud ringing noise that was painfully intense to erupt behind them [Shatter]. The earth elemental let out another roar, though it was a little less intense than the last one. Each of the other elementals appeared to be only slightly affected by the noise.

The fire elemental turned toward Finn, reaching for him with both hands. Thankfully, only one punch made contact, slightly burning Finn's left arm but missing his clothing. This did not make Finn very happy, and he took two swings at the elemental with his scimitar, connecting both times and doing a decent amount of damage, making the elemental hiss in pain.

Kurt had an inkling that the air elemental would go after Puck next but also remembered what Blaine had said about how lightning wouldn't do as much damage to it. He was torn between which one to aim for and made the split-second decision to fire his arrow at the earth elemental while casting a spell on his enemy that would allow him to mark it, making it easier to find it if it decided to hide, while dealing extra damage [Hunter's Mark]. Fortunately, his deliberation didn't affect his concentration and aim too much as he was able to hit the earth elemental in the left shoulder, taking out a large chunk of it with his first arrow. He fired off a second shot that missed completely.

While Kurt was concentrating on the earth elemental, Puck decided to take aim at the air elemental. He cast a spell on his battleaxe that would imbue it with astral radiance, making his weapon do extra radiant damage if he was able to make contact with the creature. Lucky for him, he did. Puck felt he could have done more damage if he had been the slightest bit prepared; he wasn't too upset with himself, though, seeing as that was the first elemental he had ever come across and had to fight.

As Puck was targeting the air elemental, Santana was ready to attack the earth elemental again. She was able to hit it once, but when she went back for another whack, it glided out of the way of her attack and tried to swing back. It missed her completely, actually hitting itself with its second swing. The air elemental took a few swings at Puck, hitting him once and striking the ground with its next swing.

Seeing how mangled the earth elemental looked and the others taking swings at its friends, Blaine cast the same spell as before. His aim was off, however, and it only hit the fire elemental, completely missing the others. Even though it didn't seem to take a lot of damage, the fire elemental did not like the ringing and swung, connecting hard with Finn's body.

"Son of a bitch!" Finn yelled as the fire elemental burned him once again on his left arm. The elemental missed as it lunged at the dragonborn again as Finn dodged out of the way. He was able to get his revenge, hitting the fire elemental twice with his scimitar and slicing his torso significantly.

["_Do you need to back out of there, Finn?"_] Blaine asked him through the bond.

["_I'm okay, boss. This asshole hasn't got the best of me yet, and I refuse to let him_,"] Finn answered, determined.

Kurt could tell that the earth elemental was nearly done for and took a shot at him. When the arrow hit him, what was left of his earthen body crumbled to the ground. Not wasting any time, he transferred his magical mark to the fire elemental and took a shot at it. When his lightning arrow hit the creature, it crackled loudly, and the elemental let out a deep hissing sound at the pain.

["_Dirt boy is down, Short Stuff. I'm coming your way. The two pointy-eared ones are focusing on Fiery_,"] Santana said to Puck through the bond.

Puck saw the earth elemental crumble out of the corner of his eye and was determined to whittle down the air elemental's health before Santana came over to help him. He was able to get in two good swipes, though with his second one, he hit harder than he had any other time, finally getting a feel for how the elemental moved. Santana was right next to him a moment later and took her own swings, making contact. Noticing the newcomer, the air elemental attempted to hit each of its attackers, striking Santana and missing Puck.

Blaine loosed another arrow and shot it at the fire elemental, hitting it in the right shoulder. He could tell that the elemental didn't have a lot of life left in him and hoped that it would be too weak to attack Finn again. His plan didn't entirely work as the elemental lunged at Finn, burning him with one of its firey hands; it just didn't have the energy to fight anymore.

Finn was beyond done getting burned, and, as the elemental leaned down to grab at him again, he brought his scimitar down swiftly, chopping the elemental's head clean off its body. He then rushed over to join Puck and Santana in fighting the air elemental. Finn felt that had he understood how this elemental moved, he could have ended its life, too, with one fatal strike, but his body was too burned to connect hard enough.

"You've got this, my love," Blaine said encouragingly as Kurt targeted their last standing foe.

Kurt moved his mark once more to the air elemental and took a shot. He saw the arrow go right through the elemental's chest, causing the creature to evaporate into thin air.

Blaine and Kurt ran up to their companions, and everyone assessed each other's damage. Puck didn't look too bad. Santana and Finn, however, looked like they could use a little rest to recuperate before they proceeded through the gates. Kurt used his magic to heal both of them a little, and Puck used his magic to heal Finn a little more; he had suffered the most out of all of them.

After Kurt had healed his companions, he went to the elementals remains, hoping to salvage some of his arrows. He was able to find four of his and two of Blaine's.

While the others were healing, Blaine walked up to the gates and noticed that there were five indentations on the bars, like a key of some sort. Like he had done while he was thinking, Blaine pulled out the stone he had received from Willow and rubbed the smooth surface. A couple of minutes later, he looked down and noticed that the stone was about the same size as the indentions. Then, it dawned on him: there were five spots and five of them. They had five stones.

"Hey, guys," Blaine said, turning around and walking back to the group. "Do you all have the stone that Willow gave you?" Each of them nodded. "Could you give them to me, please?"

Kurt handed him one that had a drawing of a person jumping over something. Finn's had food on it, Puck's had a pillow, and Santana's had fire on it. Blaine's own stone was marked with a set of shackles. Seeing all of the stones gave him an idea, and he pulled out the map and looked at the riddle again, reading it aloud.

_"I have many tongues but cannot taste,  
By me, most things are turned to waste.  
I crack and snap, yet I stay whole,  
I may take the largest toll.  
I assisted all of the first men,  
And I will pay them back again.  
Around me, people snuggle and sleep,  
Yet run when I am released from my keep.  
I jump around and leap and bound,  
The cold man wishes I he had found."_

"The answer is fire," Kurt said after hearing the riddle. "The question is, how do these all go together?" He looked at the five stones in Blaine's hand.

"Maybe we have to put them in the order of the riddle," Finn offered, and everyone looked at him with wide eyes. "What? I know things!"

"That's an excellent idea, Finn," Blaine replied, feeling a little sheepish for not believing in his friend. "So, food goes first, wouldn't you all agree?" At the nods, he laid that one down on a nearby flat rock.

"There aren't really any that correspond with most of the middle section," Santana said. "I think the pillow one would be next, followed by the shackles."

"The last two are the jumping one, and then fire is the answer," Puck added.

"Agreed," Blaine said. "My guess is that once we put these in the slots on the gate, it will open. I'm not sure how long it will stay open, or if we will be able to get back through it at any point. Should we push through now, or wait and rest some more?"

Their decision was made for them as the elementals all began to reconstitute. None of them wanted to go through that battle again, so the stones were quickly put in their respective places.

As the last stone was placed into its slot, the rumbling in the ground was growing stronger, signaling that the earth elemental was coming back quickly. They all hurried through the gates, Blaine bringing up the rear. He needed to make sure all of his companions made it through safely. What greeted them was pitch blackness. Blaine conjured the four silver orbs that would give them enough light to see where they were going.

"I will take the lead this time," Blaine said, moving his way to the front of the group. Kurt closely followed him down the first set of stairs, followed by Puck, Finn, and finally, Santana. The group found themselves going down a very long and narrow staircase. Every 100 feet or so, the stairs would change directions, making a zigzag shape. Just before they had been descending for an hour, Blaine's orbs began to flicker, alerting him to their dissipation if he did not re-conjure them soon. He promptly did.

"Thanks, dude," Finn said from the back. "Falling down these would suck!"

When the silver orbs began to flicker yet again, Blaine conjured them again. He was tired of walking down these stairs. "Do any of you guys want to sit down for a few minutes before we continue?" he asked the group.

Everyone agreed that taking a break was a good idea. They sat and chatted for about 30 minutes, nibbling rations and re-hydrating. When they had all rested enough, Blaine once again re-conjured the silver orbs, hoping it would be the last time he would have to do it. They were all getting tired of traversing the staircase. About 45 minutes later, they could see some sort of light below them, and they started to move a little bit faster down the stairs. By the time the silver orbs were beginning to flicker out again, they were close enough to the light source that Blaine didn't need to conjure them. As they approached the bottom of the staircase, they were not thrilled by what they saw. Standing by what looked like the only exit out of the cave were two fire elementals, much larger than the one they had just seen.

The elementals appeared to be waiting for the travelers. "Wo ulo dho Giulkauvk. Yai nikd dakhd ik da kukk dhlaikh dho kaal," the one to the right of the door said in a crackling voice.

"I'm guessing they're saying that we have to fight them to pass, but I'm going to make sure," Blaine said and cast the spell that allowed him to understand all spoken language. After the spell was cast, he took another step forward.

The elemental on the left side of the door repeated, "Wo ulo dho Giulkauvk. Yai nikd dakhd ik da kukk dhlaikh dho kaal."

"He said that they are the guardians and that we must fight them to pass through the door," Blaine translated.

"I really don't want to walk back up all of those stairs," Santana griped, stepping up next to Blaine. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Kurt and Blaine each targeted a different elemental while the other three waited to charge until the arrows were in the air. Both arrows connected with the creatures, though they noticed the attack didn't seem to affect these elementals as much as it had the one up top.

"These seem to be a lot stronger, guys," Blaine warned. "Don't get too close until we know if they can do things the one up top couldn't."

Kurt quickly fired two more arrows at the elemental on the right, hitting it with both of them. After the second shot, the elemental reacted with a crackle and a hiss, but it didn't see where the arrows were coming from.

As Puck got closer to the one on the left, he could feel its scorching heat from several paces away. He didn't think much about it since the thing was made of fire, and he was able to hit the elemental twice, though not without consequences. The burn wasn't horrible, and Puck wasn't on fire anywhere that he could tell. So he thought he would stick it out for now, knowing he had options if his health got too low.

Finn proceeded to the one on the right and instantly noticed that these elementals were hotter than the one he had fought just a few hours ago. He was able to hit the elemental twice with his scimitar, making a good-sized gash in the creature's torso. However, getting that close to these elementals, Finn was burned without even being touched. The beast, following his attack, immediately moved right up next to Finn and tried to burn him with both hands. One hand was able to make contact, but Finn dodged out of the way of the second one. Not only was he burned, but the armor on his shoulder was now on fire.

Santana was rushing toward the right elemental as well. When she saw that Finn was on fire, she quickly put it out and then spewed acid from within her, granted to her by her dragonborn bloodline, hitting the elemental right in the face. She had seen what happened when Finn got too close to the creature, and she didn't want to make the same mistake. "I know you can't understand me, so I'm just going to lay it out for you," she shouted at the elemental. "You and your flaming friend over there are going to be turned into ash by the time we're through with you." She backed up slightly, trying to stay out of range of its fists.

About the time Santana started lecturing the creature on the right, the one on the left tried to reach out and grab hold of Puck with both fists. He was able to dodge out of the way of the first grab and wasn't as lucky the second time. Not only did the bastard burn him, but it also caught his beard on fire. Blaine hurled a ball of cold energy [Chromatic Orb] at the elemental on the left, hoping that since the creature was made of fire, the cold might affect it more than other elements. He was right; it did more damage than the other types of magic he had been hitting it with, though not quite as much as he had hoped for.

"Does anybody need to pull back?" Blaine asked after he had a swift moment to assess the battlefield. He could tell that Puck and Finn seemed to have been burned the worst.

"I'm good, boss," Puck said.

"No way in hell, Hobbit," Santana spat.

"I'm still doing ok, too, B," Finn answered.

"Light that asshole up, my love," Blaine said to Kurt, trying to pump up his soulmate before dealing some more damage himself.

Kurt targeted the elemental on the right again, hitting it both times with his arrows. He wasn't sure the first arrow was going to make contact when he released it. Thankfully, it caught the elemental's lower half. Kurt focused a little more on his second shot. His arrow stuck right into the elementals left shoulder before it burned away.

Puck had been weighing his options. He could attack the beast with his axe a couple of times or he could try and command it to flee. When it came down to it, he decided on trying to command it to flee [Command]. "FLEE," he said firmly, and even though he did not speak the language, somehow, his plan worked. The elemental was compelled to follow the command, and when it turned its back, Puck took a cheap shot at him. His battleaxe took out a small piece of the elemental's backside.

It had been so long since Finn had had to use his breath weapon that he almost forgot he had it until he saw Santana hit the creature right in front of him with her acid. He was so nervous about using it that he almost missed. Luckily, the elemental could not get out of the way fast enough and was greeted with a face full of lightning, successfully turning the creature to ash.

Since the remaining elemental was currently running away from Puck, Santana decided to use the few seconds she had to make sure both she and Finn weren't on fire. When she deemed that they were both okay, she ran over to Puck and doused him with the remaining water in her water-skin.

"Thanks, San," Puck said gratefully. He had worked hard to get his beard to look the way he wanted it and was pissed that this fucker had damaged it.

"Anytime, Short Stuff," she replied, grinning.

The elemental broke free of the command that Puck had on him and turned back to finish its job. It hadn't realized how far away it had gotten from the group and, despite flailing wildly, wasn't able to reach anyone to burn them.

Blaine had had enough. He put all of the energy and concentration he had into releasing one more spell that the elemental was not able to withstand. Suddenly, the elemental disappeared [Banishment].

"We have to go through the doors now," Blaine shouted to the group.

Nobody argued with him and very swiftly made their way to the doors, wrenching them open and snapping them shut again just as the first elemental started to reconstitute, and the other one reappeared from wherever Blaine sent it. When they turned around, they were met with a luscious bed of grass bordered by huge hedges and bushes. A fountain stood at the front of the garden to the group's left, tinkling with the sound of water. The flowers and plants were growing perfectly, each kind contained to their own space. The flowers were a delight for the many different kinds of butterflies that could be seen from where the group stood. The hedges and bushes reached four feet high, obviously well cared for. A path of stone twisted through the garden and led to the fountain taking the most scenic route. Roots were sticking to their own domains, not seeking to take over the garden as they could have.

The fountain loomed in the middle and was the main centerpiece of the garden. It was bracketed by two large trees with golden leaves; it was as though someone had created the fountain specifically to be put right where it was, and the trees were planted to magnify its beauty and bring attention to it. It was the most beautiful work of art any of them had ever seen. The flowers and plants did their best to take some of the attention, and the hedges and bushes definitely deserved to be paid attention to as well. But, it seemed that all of their collective attention was brought back to the fountain.

"I know it's not late enough to sleep, but I think we should rest, guys," Blaine said after he had gotten his fill of looking at the garden. "I can put up a couple of huts after we eat and heal each other. If we don't have enough magic to heal all of the way, Kurt and I have rejuvenating water that can help too. By then, it should be time to sleep. We can explore more tomorrow."

"I agree with Blaine," Kurt said.

Puck started by healing himself until he felt like he was back up to par. Then, he turned to Finn and Santana since Kurt and Blaine were able to use their ranged weapons to fight all of the elemental creatures and hadn't taken any damage.

While Puck was healing the others, Kurt and Blaine were fixing up some food. They had some meat jerky in their packs as well as some dried fruit and vegetables. They all sat mostly in silence, reflecting on the day they had had.

"What was it that you did back there, Blaine?" Kurt asked, curiously. The others leaned in, too, eager to know the answer.

"I banished him from this plane," Blaine explained. "I knew that the creature wasn't likely going to be able to resist it, and I didn't want to chance anyone else getting hurt. The spell doesn't last long, and it's not a sure thing."

"Damn, boss," Puck said, putting his fist out toward Blaine to bump.

Blaine knocked knuckles with Puck, a smirk on his face. "Yeah," he said. "It's a pretty handy spell when it works the way I intend it to. I'm going to start putting up the huts now, guys. I think we should all sleep in them tonight since none of us know what to expect here."

"I'll bunk with these two," Santana offered and motioned to Finn and Puck. Pointing a finger at Puck, she continued, "And you would do well to remember our little chat on the ship."

"You won't have to worry about me making that mistake ever again," Puck promised, holding up his hands. "I like my dick right where it is, thank you very much! And you seem just crazy enough to keep that particular promise!"

"Damn straight I will," Santana said, flipping her tendrils and looking out into the garden again, scanning for any visible threats. As much as she liked to joke around with her companions, she always felt compelled to stay on high alert.

When Blaine conjured the huts, he made it so only the occupants sleeping in each one could enter. He didn't want any rogue creatures trying to come in, nor did he want anyone to interrupt Kurt and him. They all bid each other a good night and entered their respective huts. Once inside, Blaine and Kurt embraced, letting go of all of the tension they had accumulated throughout the day. The battle had been surreal, both of them being able to feel each other's anxiety and fear. They finally felt better being safe in each other's arms.

"Let's get the bedding ready, and I will clean us up," Blaine offered after he felt like he was able to breathe easily again.

"That sounds wonderful, thiramen," Kurt replied.

Blaine laid out their bedrolls, and Kurt undressed. He could feel Kurt's arousal through their bond, and when he turned around, he was met with the sight of his love in all of his naked glory.

"I think you're a little overdressed for what I have planned for this evening," Kurt said in a husky voice with his hand on his cock, pushing as much arousal through their bond as he could.

Blaine didn't say anything. Instead, he walked over to Kurt and captured his lips in a heated kiss, swatting Kurt's hand away from his cock, taking over with stroking it while Kurt began to undress Blaine. Once he was naked, too, the couple embraced, wanting as much skin as possible to touch from head to toe.

"We're filthy, and I want to taste your whole body," Kurt said, wanting to take the lead tonight.

Blaine cleaned them quickly with his magic and then lead Kurt over to the bedding. When Blaine tried to lay Kurt down, Kurt shook his head and gently pushed Blaine down onto his back. Kurt then straddled Blaine's thighs and began kissing him, taking special care to not let their groins touch.

Several minutes later, Kurt started to work his way down Blaine's body, starting first with his jawline and neck then proceeding to both nipples. Blaine was moaning and panting by the time Kurt made it further down his torso. When Kurt reached Blaine's left hipbone, he sucked a rather impressive mark on it that made Blaine's back arch all the way off the bedding. He licked and sucked his way to Blaine's balls, giving each one of them equal attention. He then nudged at Blaine, indicating that he needed to lift himself, which Blaine complied.

Kurt had been looking forward to this since the huts were conjured. It had been far too long since he had had the opportunity to love Blaine like this. Blaine's carnal hunger for Kurt's body had kept them from doing anything other than making love since they first joined. Now, their bond had evened out, and they were able to explore each other more. Kurt started with taking one long swipe at Blaine's entrance with his tongue, inhaling the musky scent as he progressed upward, licking all the way to the crown of Blaine's cock and sinking down one time.

"Kurt!" Blaine shouted in ecstasy.

Pulling off of Blaine, Kurt went back to lick and kiss around Blaine's entrance. As good as it felt when Blaine was doing this to him, he loved reciprocating. He loved the smell, the taste, and more than anything, he loved the otherworldly noises that it pulled from Blaine. When Kurt licked his way back up to Blaine's cock, he was stopped before he could sink down.

"I'm not going to last if you keep doing that," Blaine told him, a hint of desperation in his tone.

"That's kind of the idea, thiramen," Kurt responded, wiggling his eyebrows. He sunk down and bobbed his head a couple of times before he was stopped again.

"I have an idea," Blaine said with a mischievous smirk. "We can do this to each other at the same time. Turn around, my love."

Kurt's eyes almost bugged out of his head, thinking of the pleasure they would both soon be feeling. He turned and lowered himself into Blaine's waiting mouth. Once he was in and sure that he wasn't going to choke his soulmate, he sunk back down around Blaine, redoubling his efforts to bring him to completion. Both men were moaning at the pleasure they were feeling and knew that neither would take much time at all to reach their orgasm.

A couple of minutes later, Blaine felt the familiar tug in his body that alerted him to his impending orgasm. He tried to signal to Kurt that he needed to slow down; he wanted this to last. Kurt was well aware of Blaine's tells and had no intention of slowing down. He bobbed faster and sucked harder, all the while moaning louder at the sensations he was feeling from Blaine's mouth. Blaine figured out what Kurt was doing and copied his love's actions. Within mere seconds of each other, they were both moaning loudly, swallowing down each other's release.

When they were finished, Kurt pulled off of Blaine and out of his mouth, flopping on the bedding beside him. Blaine's breath finally evened out, and he leaned up onto his elbows to look at his love.

"Wow," Blaine whispered. "You are so beautiful, and I am the luckiest being on this earth to be bonded to you for all eternity."

"Not as lucky as I am, thiramen," Kurt whispered back, turning himself around so that he could cuddle up next to Blaine. "Let's get dressed and then sleep. It's been a really long day, and I don't want to chance waking up, the hut somehow being gone, and the others seeing us naked."

Blaine chuckled, "Good idea."

The couple redressed in their newly cleaned clothes, courtesy of Blaine's magic, and fell into a peaceful rest.

* * *

A/N: Translations

**Terran to Common

Yai v'rr rak vaett kloto saekot v'klaik ae g'slk. = You will not pass these gates without a fight.

**Ignan to Common

Wo ulo dho Giulkauvk. Yai nikd dakhd ik da kukk dhlaikh dho kaal. = We are the Guardians. You must fight us to pass through the door.


	11. Fulfilled

Tags: Near Death Experience

A/N: Translations are at the end.

* * *

When Blaine awoke the next morning, he was happy to feel Kurt right next to him. He could tell through their bond that his soulmate was awake and was soaking in the feeling of being in his arms. "Good morning, my love," Blaine said in a sleepy voice as he looked up to see the blue eyes he loved so much.

"Sleep well?" Kurt asked, leaning down to give Blaine a kiss on his forehead.

"I always sleep well in your arms," Blaine replied. "Did you rest well?"

"I did," Kurt answered. "I've been awake for a little while now, just taking in our surroundings. This place has a lot of creatures I've never seen, but they don't seem to be hostile or even curious about the huts. I know they can't see them, but it's almost like they all stay to their certain areas around the two trees and don't necessarily interact with each other. It's odd."

"Well, maybe we will just look around the garden, not disturb anything, and see if we can find another way out," Blaine offered and then leaned up to kiss Kurt properly. "The huts should be dispelling soon; let's get packed up and make something for breakfast. The others should be awake by now and might just be waiting for us to emerge."

"Sounds good, thiramen," Kurt replied, kissing Blaine again, a little longer than the previous one, knowing that it might be awhile before they could kiss again.

They packed up their bedrolls quietly and got their things ready to go for the day. After they exited the hut, they sat down on a nearby log and got out some food to eat while they waited on the others. They didn't have to wait too long. Santana was out of the other hut first, a look of disgust on her face.

"I may need to shack up with you two next time," she said as she sat down on the log by Blaine. "Those two cannot control their bodily functions when they sleep."

"I could make you your own hut, too, if you'd like," Blaine offered. "Though if you wanted to sleep in our hut, you would be more than welcome."

"My own would be better, honestly," Santana said much to the relief of Kurt and Blaine both. "I'd rather not be in the way while you guys are still in the early stages of your bonding. I know how important this time is for you both."

"Thanks, Tana," Blaine said as both he and Kurt blushed. "I will make sure you have your own hut tonight."

Several minutes later, the huts both dispelled, and the boys could smell what Santana was talking about. There was a foul odor that filled the air as soon as the hut was gone.

"I am so sorry you had to sleep in there," Blaine said, holding his breath. "You will most definitely have your own hut from now on or share ours."

Kurt was nodding his head in agreement while making gagging noises. He didn't care if their bonding got disturbed, nobody should be subjected to that smell.

Not having the comfortable and consistent temperature that the hut provided around them, Finn and Puck awoke, slightly chilled. Once everyone was fed, the group discussed their plan for the day. As they were looking around at the scenery, Blaine and Finn were able to make out a shape on the other side of the trees, but they couldn't quite tell what it was. Kurt and Santana declared that it was a doorway of some sort. Puck didn't see anything; he was too short and still much too focused on his food.

"I think we should try to get out of here as quickly as possible and disturb as little as possible," Kurt offered. "There are a lot of creatures in this place that I've never before seen or heard about. They all seem to have designated spots around the trees, or at least that's how it seems to me."

"So, the plan is to get around the trees to the doorway and hope that it leads out of here?" Blaine asked the group.

When they were finished eating, they followed Blaine's lead through the garden. Kurt was right; there were so many unique species of animals there. Blaine was fighting the urge to sit down and draw them all out so that he could research them later. As the group got closer to the trees, Kurt and Finn noticed a humanoid figure standing by the fountain.

"Guys, somebody's over by the fountain," Finn blurted out to the group, pointing.

Blaine had been so distracted by the creatures that he hadn't noticed. Now that he had been made aware, he saw the figure Finn was talking about. "Should we go over there?" he asked.

"_Yes, you should come over here_," a voice said, seeming to come from inside their heads.

They all stopped and looked at each other. "Did you guys hear that, too?" Blaine whispered, and they all nodded. "What do you think we should do?"

"_You won't leave this place without talking to me first, so you might as well just come now_," the same voice purred in their minds.

"Let's just get this over with," Kurt said, irritated. He did not like having this stranger inside his head like that.

As they approached the fountain, the animals and creatures who had been walking around it stopped and watched them. When they got close enough, they were able to take in the person who was now standing on the water in the fountain. What they saw was a dapper, androgynous figure. The figure had male features but was also very petty. He wore a black, fitted suit and a top hat. Though he looked very non-threatening, there was an immense power coming from his lithe, graceful figure. The whole group could sense it, and they were very cautious.

"Hello," the man said. "My name is Metyx." He held out the "S" at the end of his name momentarily. "Can I ask what you are doing in my garden?" A devilish smile lit up his features.

"We were sent on a mission, and Emelle was our next stop," Blaine answered. He was trying to recall where he had read the name "Metyx" before.

"Ah," Metyx answered. "I know of this mission. It is not a mission you will succeed on." His speech was slow and smooth, almost as if he drew delight from every word he spoke. "There will always be prejudice and injustice in this world. That is not something you five alone can change."

"You are living proof of change, aren't you?" Blaine challenged, remembering where he had read about Metyx. He was the fallen right hand of the creator. Metyx used to be in "the eternity," working alongside the creator, but one day, he decided to challenge him. Instead of a challenge, Metyx was cast out of the heavens and never permitted reentry.

"You've remembered who I am, Blaine of Wellume," Metyx said, amused. "You've missed quite a few details in your...recollection, but the main idea is there. You might want to tell your companions to put their weapons away. You and I both know they will do no good as I cannot be killed."

"He's right," Blaine said to the group. "He can't be killed. He's one who's been cast out of the heavens by the creator himself. His sole purpose in this world is to spread evil." Blaine then turned to Metyx. "So, I'm guessing this is the Cradle of Creation, and those are the trees of Life and Knowledge?" he asked, gesturing toward the fountain and gold-leafed trees in front of them.

"That would be correct on all accounts," Metyx answered. "Now, the question is, what is your next move?"

"We're going to continue on our mission," Blaine answered without hesitation. "While we might not be able to stop all prejudice everywhere, we can do what we can to make the world a better place for anyone who's been labeled as different."

The others agreed with him and weren't backing down, no matter how daunting of a task fulfilling the prophecy seemed. They had been marked. They had been chosen. They were in this together to the end. No matter what this guy was saying, the Fates had chosen them to carry out this mission and carry it out they would.

"Your companions are either very courageous or very stupid; I haven't decided which one yet," Metyx said, amused.

"They're some of the best people I've ever met," Blaine defended. "As titillating as this conversation has been, we're going to be on our way."

"You all know who I am now," Metyx began. "Do you honestly think I would let you just waltz right out of here without trying to kill you?" He laughed as though he'd just told a wonderful joke. "You're trying to reverse something I've spent ages trying to perfect."

"Bring it on, jackass!" Puck said defiantly, knowing his companions felt the same way.

"Children, don't let them leave unharmed," Metyx said casually and then vanished.

"Children?" Finn asked.

"The book I read mentioned something about beings that helped guard the trees that was planted here by their creator," Blaine recalled, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that might be emerging. "They're called golems, and they exist exclusively to follow their creator's orders and demands, in this case is Metyx, no matter what. They only understand the language of their creator, and Metyx, I'm sure, knows all of the languages there are."

Just as he finished explaining this, two creatures appeared. One looked like a pile of various bones melded together. It had six skulls, five arms, two legs, and a tail. There was no flesh anywhere to be seen. The other one was the complete opposite; it was made entirely of fleshy pieces of different bodies all stitched together.

"Now that I know what we're up against, I remember that they really don't like fire!" Blaine told the group as they were readying themselves for battle once again. "The bone golem is more dangerous. We need to take it out first if we can."

Kurt was the first one to get a shot off and marked the bone golem with his magic. He shot two arrows at it, connecting both times; one arrow was sticking in its ribcage and the other in its pelvic bone.

Blaine attacked next and imbued his quiver with magic [Fire Arrows] that would cause fire damage as well as the thunder damage that the gnome's imbued. He didn't do nearly as much damage as he'd hoped he would, but it was damage nonetheless.

Puck, Santana, and Finn all charged at the bone golem together. When Puck hit it the first time, his battleaxe shown with bright light, doing extra radiant damage. Unfortunately, his second swing did not connect, and his axe flew right past the creature's left leg. Santana hit it with both of her short swords at the same time, effectively cutting off one of its many arms. Finn raised his scimitar and hit the golem twice, cutting off another arm.

When it saw Puck, Santana, and Finn rush toward its friend, the flesh golem went to its aid. It first tried to hit Puck since he was closest. The golem did not account for Puck's build, however, and missed him entirely with its first swing. It then swung at Finn and hit him in the right arm, doing minimal damage.

The bone golem was pissed at the attacks being thrown at it. It targeted Kurt and surrounded him with what appeared to be a bone cage of sorts.

Kurt was furious with himself that he had not dodged out of the way of the bone prison he was now in. He saw a weak spot in the cage that he thought he could escape through, and he easily did.

Blaine was even more pissed that Kurt was trapped and hit the bone golem right in the middle of two of the skulls, shattering them both to bits.

Startled by the flesh golems appearance, Puck's next swing at the bone golem missed. Thankfully, a second one hit and effectively shattered the being to bits. With that one out of the way, Santana and Finn turned toward the flesh golem, ready to cut it to pieces. Santana struck first, slicing deep into its torso on both sides. Then, Finn hit it twice with his scimitar. He felt like he hit the golem pretty hard but was disappointed to see that the flesh golem looked mostly unharmed. After a moment, he noticed that it was stitching itself up where he had hit it, and it hadn't done that when Santana had attacked. Finn didn't have any time to think, because the golem was now attacking him. It clubbed Finn once in the arm and once in the chest with his hands.

Remembering what Blaine had told them only moments before about the flesh golem not liking fire, Kurt imbued his lightning arrows with fire and shot two of them at the golem. Neither Puck nor Santana saw the golem stitch itself up again, but Finn did. He had been watching to see if it was just a trick of his mind or if the creature mended itself after being damaged. Before he had the chance to say anything, Blaine loosed a bolt from his crossbow at the golem. The bolt severed a majority of the stitches in the creature's left shoulder, leaving it hanging by a few threads. Puck then wound up and smacked the golem in its torso with his axe. The strike was so hard that all of the stitches holding the flesh golem together unraveled, and it fell to the ground in a pile of goo.

The group didn't have a lot of time to celebrate their victory. As Kurt and Blaine started to walk toward their companions, Blaine yelped in pain as a new creature snuck up on them and bit him on the left leg. At Blaine's yell, the group turned to see what was happening. An enormous serpentine creature that looked like a cross between a centipede and a crocodile had snuck up on them. The beast was a deep blue and covered in a scaly hide. It has six pairs of legs and a very long tail that wound out far behind it.

Santana and Finn wasted no time in rushing to their friend's aid. On her first attack, Santana swung her sword a little too enthusiastically and landed next to the creature's mouth. It tried to take a bite at her and missed. She regained her balance and focus and swung again, hitting it on its back. Finn moved in to try and strike the creature. He was able to make contact with his first attack, but the monster was able to skitter out of the way when he brought his scimitar back down.

The creature then attacked Blaine since he was bleeding already; it wanted another taste. It sunk its teeth into the same leg, doing quite a bit of damage, mangling Blaine's leg in the process. Blaine cried out again and, when he did so, startled the beast, keeping it from wrapping its body around him.

Kurt backed away from the creature, not having anything he could attack it with at this close range. However, it lunged at him, biting him before he was able to step back. He was beyond furious. Through their bond, he could feel Blaine's pain. He was also in pain, though it didn't compare to the pain his soulmate was in. Kurt took a deep breath, determined to make each arrow count. And count it did. His first arrow hit the creature right in the neck, while the second one hit it more in the torso.

Blaine was done with this fucker biting him. He sent black ribbons of dark energy [Negative Energy Flood] at the creature that it was unable to avoid. The beast wailed as the ribbons attacked its entire body. Puck swung his battleaxe at the monster twice more, imbuing the weapon with the astral radiance. His first swing missed due to the creature's pained writhing but connected the second time. As Puck's second strike came down, Santana took two more swings, making contact with the beast both times and slicing it down its back and side. Finn also struck twice, adding slices to its middle and lower back.

Sensing that it was likely going to lose the battle, the creature exhaled lightning toward Blaine in a last-ditch effort to take an enemy down with it. Kurt screamed in pain, and the others saw their friend drop to the ground, twitching as the electricity passed through his unconscious body.

"NOOOOOOO!" Kurt screamed, feeling his heart shattering, and loosed two arrows at the still wiggling monster, needing this thing to be out of the way before he could rush over to check on Blaine. Both arrows hit the beast right between the eyes, and it dropped to the ground. For good measure, Santana, Finn, and Puck all struck it once more to make sure it was dead while Kurt hurried to Blaine's side to see if he could stabilize him and stop the bleeding. He was too distraught, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably, to really help and didn't fully realize that his soulmate wasn't breathing at all. Kurt could feel their bond, but it was fading quickly. Something needed to happen before the bond faded away, but Kurt had absolutely no idea what to do.

Puck rushed over and knelt beside Blaine on the opposite side of Kurt. He quickly assessed Blaine's wounds and was successful in stopping the bleeding. Blaine's body was ashen and had black marks all over it in a lighting pattern. His whole body looked bruised, and Kurt could see all of his veins, black against his pale skin. His soulmate looked like he had been burned from the lightning. There was so much blood covering him that it was difficult for Kurt and the others to see where the source of it was coming from.

As a paladin, Puck had been gifted a touch that would allow him to heal wounds [Revivify]. Kurt watched Blaine's chest with bated breath, hoping that Puck would be able to bring his soulmate back. The dwarf touched Blaine and through his magic, was able to restore some of Blaine's life force, though not all of it. The color in Blaine's cheeks and hands began to come back, and the dark bruises from the lightning damage began to fade. As his chest started to rise and fall, Kurt could feel their soulbond strengthen.

Suddenly, Blaine gasped as life came flooding back to him. "What the hell just happened?" he asked in a croaky voice, feeling Kurt's panic and sorrow.

"The beast spewed lightning at you, and it knocked you out," Santana said, concern written all over her face.

Instinctually, Blaine looked at Kurt and saw tears in his eyes and tear tracks down his cheeks. "I'm alright now, my love," he whispered. "I'm right here, and I'm alive."

Kurt nodded, too afraid to say anything, because he knew his voice would waver with emotion.

"We need to get out of here," Santana said. "Let's go toward the door that Porcelain and I saw earlier. That has to be the way out of this place."

Kurt gave Blaine a large drink of his rejuvenating water that he had gotten at the Festival of Clane. The water helped close up a few more of the wounds and make it so that Blaine could carry some of his own weight as they prepared to leave the garden.

They all agreed and started walking toward the gate. Kurt and Finn were on each side of Blaine, helping support him as he walked. Though Puck had been able to close his wounds, Blaine's leg was still very sore. Santana was in the lead, and Puck was bringing up the rear. The other creatures in the garden left them alone after watching the group slaughter the foes that were put before them. As the group approached the door, they noticed that it wasn't guarded or locked. All Santana had to do was turn the knob.

The door opened up to a space that was much like the one they had escaped from into the garden, though there were no fire elementals to greet them this time. There was, however, another staircase that led up further than any of them could see. Blaine weakly conjured his silver orbs, and the group began to climb. Every hour, he would re-conjure them. It took them longer to reach the top than it did to go down the first set of stairs as they had to stop and rest often to keep up Blaine's strength.

When they finally reached the top, they found themselves in a cave. "I think we should stay here for the night, guys," Kurt said, speaking for the first time since Blaine had fallen unconscious. They all agreed.

"I don't have the energy to put up three different huts," Blaine offered. "I have another spell that I could use, though. It will create one huge structure, and we can each have our own area of it if that's alright with everyone. I'd still like to have some semblance of privacy with Kurt."

"I think that sounds like a good plan, boss," Puck said.

"I agree, dude," Finn offered.

"I'm good with that, too," Santana agreed. "Does it work like the huts, where you can dictate who can and cannot come into it?"

"Yeah, it does, Tana," Blaine reassured and set out to conjure the structure [Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum] which was basically a much larger version of the hut. Kurt never left his side, and the others stayed close by. No one felt comfortable being away from their friend and leader.

When the structure was complete, Blaine led them inside. The place was huge, and as they all entered, the group noticed that they could no longer hear the sounds of the cave. Like the hut they had become accustomed to, the new structure was the perfect temperature and had adequate lighting. There was a magical barrier around it, and only those who the spell caster permitted were allowed inside.

"This place is ginormous!" Finn exclaimed, gazing around him at the sheer expanse.

"It is pretty spacious, isn't it?" Blaine admitted. "I prefer the intimacy of the huts to be honest. Tonight, there was just no way I could conjure them, though. I'm exhausted." He looked at the group apologetically, but no one seemed to notice.

"We're going to set up our bed right here," Kurt said as he helped Blaine sit down. "I don't want to have to go too far right now."

"Let's spread out, guys," Santana told the other two. "Holler if you need anything, Kurt."

"I will," Kurt answered. "Thanks." He waited until Puck and Finn had walked away before calling softly, "Hey, San?"

"Yeah?" Santana said.

Kurt stood so he could talk to her in closer proximity, not wanting what he was going to say to be overheard.

"I'm going to completely undress him and clean his wounds," Kurt said with a slight blush in his cheeks. "Could you keep the guys away for a little bit?"

"I sure can," Santana answered. "Here's my water and some cloths. If you need me to run out and get more water, let me know, and I will...Or if you need me to sit with him for a while."

Kurt surprised both of them by hugging her. "You're an excellent friend, San. Don't worry, though. I won't tell anyone." He winked at her with a small smile.

As Santana started walking away, Blaine spoke up. "Hey, Tana?"

"What's up, Blaine?" she answered gently, turning back.

"What if I put a hut up right here for Kurt and me, and you could stay close to us?" Blaine offered. He could tell that his momentary death had scared her more than she'd let on.

"Can you do that?" Santana asked. "I was honestly going to suggest it earlier, but I have no idea how your magic works at all. I didn't know if you could put one structure inside of another."

"I've never tried it," Blaine admitted. "I'd like to, though." He attempted to cast the spell as he sat on the ground. To his surprise, he was able to cast the hut within the structure, right around the three of them. "Well, huh. You learn something new every day I guess." He grinned at Kurt and Santana.

"Alright, Hobbit," Santana said with a little chuckle. "I will get out of here so you guys can do what you need to and get some rest. I will be right outside here and will probably call the guys back over, too."

"That sounds good, Tana," Blaine said. "You will be able to get back in if there's an emergency."

"I doubt that will happen," Santana deadpanned as she stood up and walked toward the entrance of the hut. "Rest well, both of you."

Kurt got busy setting out the bedrolls and helping Blaine to lay down and get comfortable. He then stripped his clothes off of his soulmate slowly and started cleaning Blaine's wounds. The water he had drank, and the magic that Puck and Kurt had performed had closed the injuries, but there was still dried blood all over his body from the bites and other damage he had taken. Seeing all of the blood and the healing wounds, Kurt broke down and started to cry. Flashes of Blaine's body lying prone and lifeless on the ground kept playing through his mind as he looked at the cuts and bruises.

"Kurt," Blaine began, sitting up to embrace his soulmate, feeling Kurt's anguish through their soulbond, "please don't cry. I'm alright, and I'm right here."

"I just got you, and I could have lost you forever today," Kurt sobbed into Blaine's chest.

"Kurt, my love, look at me, please," Blaine pled, wanting to calm his soulmate and reassure him that he was safe.

As Kurt calmed his breathing and his sobs lessened, he looked up into the golden eyes he loved so much.

"I am not going anywhere. No matter what. I don't believe that Fate would have brought us together just to tear us apart so soon," Blaine said quietly as he searched Kurt's gaze. "There might be bumpy roads ahead, and one or both of us might get hurt along the way. It's just the way the world works. What we need to always remember is that we belong to each other in every sense of the word. Nothing and nobody can come between us, no matter how hard they try. They won't win. We will." He pressed a gentle kiss to Kurt's temple. "Our souls have always been made to find each other. In every lifetime you and I have lived, we've chosen to come back and find each other and fall in love all over again, over and over for all eternity. And I just feel so lucky that I found you so soon in this lifetime because all I want to do, all I've ever wanted to do, is spend my life loving you. So, that is why I know that we will be alright, and nothing that we can't overcome will happen to us." He swallowed back his emotions. This moment was about healing Kurt.

Kurt was crying for a different reason now. He could feel the love, adoration, and sincerity in Blaine's speech through their bond. Kurt could tell in the depths of his soul that Blaine was right, and there was not a force strong enough to ever keep them apart. "You're right, thiramen. You're absolutely right." He cleared his throat, pushing the worst past his thick tongue. "I know we will be together forever. Seeing you like that today; it just really shook me. And, I know now that I can survive it if it were to happen again." He smiled, swiping the rest of his tears away before kissing Blaine's cheek. "Now, lay back down and let me clean you up," he ordered playfully.

"Bossy," Blaine smirked mischievously. "How about I clean us both up, and then we get dirty?" he asked, wiggling his triangle eyebrows suggestively.

"You're ridiculous, thiramen," Kurt said with a chuckle and started to get undressed.

Once Blaine cleaned them up with his magic, Kurt could tell that his soulmate's energy was disappearing quickly. He made a decision right then that that night, he would do all of the work. With Blaine on his back, Kurt sat down between Blaine's spread legs and leaned back himself, exposing his entrance to Blaine. Kurt began to work himself open with his own fingers and saliva, gasping when he noticed that Blaine had used a little more magic to add some lubrication.

"Blaine," Kurt moaned as he made quick work of the preparation, "This feels so good. I can't wait for you to be inside me."

"Va're desha Veluthe e bren," Blaine said, mesmerized by what he was watching Kurt do to himself.

After hearing Blaine speak to him in their native language, Kurt got up and straddled Blaine, lowering himself down onto the hard cock waiting for him, groaning the entire way. Knowing that Blaine's energy wasn't going to hold out for very long and taking into account the stress from the day, Kurt rode Blaine hard and fast. They released all of the stress and tension they had been holding inside all day long into each other.

Both of them thought it felt like it was their first time together because of how quickly they reached their orgasms. Kurt started stroking his own hard cock in time with the up and down motions Blaine was helping him with. The second they made eye contact, they both yelled each other's names and came so hard they blacked out for a few seconds. Kurt was the first to come back to himself, somehow having stayed upright when he blacked out.

He pulled himself off of Blaine and grabbed the cloth and water Santana had lent him, pouring some onto the fabric and cleaning Blaine up first, then himself. Kurt laid down beside Blaine and pulled the extra blanket over them, maneuvering Blaine's pliant body to lay on his chest. He wanted to have Blaine in his arms through the night. Even though he knew that Blaine was alive and safe at that moment, he struggled to completely get the image of his soulmate lying on the ground, not moving, out of his head.

The boys woke several hours later, though they weren't sure exactly how long they'd slept, to some sort of phantom pull outside the sanctum. They looked at each other and instantly knew that the other was feeling the same thing. Kurt was relieved at how much better Blaine looked after resting. The red marks where the magic had healed him were more of a light pink color and would likely be gone entirely by the following night. They got dressed and quietly made their way out of the hut and then the sanctum, walking hand in hand.

Blaine conjured his silver orbs and made sure they weren't too bright as the boys followed the invisible tug toward a part of the cave they hadn't seen yet. Neither one was scared or nervous or had a bad feeling about what they were doing. They trusted the pull for a reason that neither of them understood.

After they had walked for about 10 minutes, they stopped and squeezed each other's hands. There, in the mouth of the cave, bathing in the moonlight, were two dire wolf pups. One was black with purple tinted crystals down it's back, and one was white with light green crystals. As the boys approached them, the wolves did not seem to be startled or scared. Blaine sat down at the entrance of the cave, and Kurt sat in front of him, leaning back on him slightly.

The wolves came over to the two boys and nudged at their left hands. Simultaneously, Kurt and Blaine reached up to pet the pup in front of them, the white one next to Blaine and the black one next to Kurt. When their hands rubbed down to the neck of the wolves, the pups simultaneously raised their heads and howled at the moon in beautiful harmony. Neither boy had seen that Santana, Finn, and Puck had heard them leave the hut and followed them. They all had tears in their eyes, knowing that the prophecy would be completed now. All they had to do was see it through.

"We're on the right path," Blaine said softly to Kurt, stroking the white pup. "We just need to keep moving forward and righting all the wrongs we can along the way. We can do this. Together."

B~B~B~B~B

The group would go on and eventually defeat Omno Persan and many of his followers. It took them a couple of years to build their strength against him as they needed to gain followers, knowledge, and magic. There was no way to completely rid the world of prejudice; it just wasn't possible. It was possible, however, to spread acceptance and tolerance, and that's exactly what they did.

During the final battle, the group was well prepared. They had learned all they could about their enemy, and the weapons the purists were likely going to use. In a book that Blaine found along the way, he learned that only a truly powerful spell could do what Omno Persan wanted: Deep Lament. What Omno wasn't counting on, though, was Blaine and his party learning the only way to counter the spell.

Deep Lament is the gathering of hate, fear, and cruelty from a creature and its surroundings which is coalesced within the being to form a nearly vicious blast of physically damaging evil. Divine Blaze is a forgiving rebound and only works when charged with Deep Lament. The creature shooting the blaze has to willingly take the hit. However, in their last dying action, a visible, nearly tangible beam of pure forgiveness is shot from the spirit of the creature, as the physical part of the creature has already been killed, and hurled back at the source of the lament.

Omno Persan siphoned all of the hate, cruelty, and fear from all creatures around him and cast it with all of his strength at the companions. The group all joined hands, the wolves on each end and Blaine in the middle, and simultaneously cast Divine Blaze back, giving up their lives in order to keep others safe from this great evil.

Blaine knew Divine Blaze had worked when he stumbled into a dimly lit room with two figures in it. One, was his love, his soulmate. The other was a figure behind a podium, beckoning for him to join them.

* * *

A/N: Translation

**Elvish to Common

Va're desha Veluthe e bren. = You're so beautiful like this.

***The proposal is adapted from the actual proposal in Glee. Most of those words aren't mine.

***The spells at the very end, Deep Lament and Divine Blaze are made up spells and will not be found in any D&D manual/book.

***I wanted to talk about the death mechanics of D&D. When Blaine 'dies' earlier in this chapter, he isn't all of the way dead at this point. Each character has hit points, and when they are dropped to 0. If someone is near them, they can try to stabilize them, which is what Kurt tried to do. He was so distraught, however, that he failed to do this properly. He couldn't even remember that he had magic that he could have used to heal him in that way. Puck, being a paladin and not so emotionally close to the situation, used his magic to heal Blaine enough to get them out of the garden and to safety. If they cannot be stabilized, they have to make what are called "death saves" by rolling on a 20-sided dice and the number determines if you pass or fail. If a character fails 3 of these death saves before succeeding 3 times, they are dead-dead and have to either be resurrected or play a new character. There are some spells, like "Disintegrate" which we saw in Chapter 3, that require very high levels of magic to bring the person back. This happened in the campaign that I play in. Our DM (Dungeon Master) disintegrated his wife's character, and we spent the next 2 sessions finding someone powerful enough to bring her back. There are other spells, like "Negative Energy Flood" that if they bring a creature to 0 hit points, that creature then turns into a zombie and they will not be able to come back as what they were should they be healed.


End file.
